West Bengal Signs MoU with French Embassy to Restore Chandannagar Heritage
West Bengal has signed an MoU with the French Embassy to restore Chandannagar's French-era buildings, starting with the Registry Building, and will hold an annual French festival.
The West Bengal government has signed a memorandum of understanding with the French Embassy to restore Chandannagar's colonial-era heritage and promote the Hooghly district town as an international tourism destination.
The agreement, announced by Tourism Minister Shankar Ghosh in the presence of French Ambassador to India Thierry Mathou, will begin with the renovation of the Registry Building, once the main administrative office of the French rulers.
A three-day celebration from September 11 to 13 marked the launch of the initiative, with cultural programmes held along the riverbanks. Mr. Ghosh said the town's French structures and its history of freedom fighters who revolted against the British made its preservation important.
"Under this, we will restore the Registry Building and other French structures to preserve Chandannagar's heritage," he said.
The Minister also announced that a French festival will be held in the city every year to celebrate the India-France partnership. He said the government has prepared a map for heritage renovation projects under the theme "Little Europe across the Ganges," which will also cover Chinsurah's Dutch heritage, Srirampore's Danish heritage and Bansberia's Portuguese heritage, starting with Chandannagar.
Chandannagar became a French settlement after the French East India Company set up its first trading post there in 1696 with permission from Nawab Ibrahim Khan. A decade later, the French bought a larger tract of land from the Mughals and made it a permanent settlement. The French left in 1950, but the town's architectural legacy continues to attract visitors.
Besides structures already given heritage status, 99 Indo-French heritage buildings have been identified in Chandannagar as needing restoration.