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Pink City Jaipur (गुलाबी नगर
जयपुर) Jantar-Mantar now has been granted World Heritage status by UNESCO.
The decision was taken in UNESCO's World Heritage Committee meeting in Brasilia.
"This is India's 28th and Rajasthan's second site (after Keoladev National Park) which has been given this status and it is a matter of
proud for us and for nation as well," state Tourism Minister Bina K ak told reporters here. "We were making efforts for the past one year to get it the prestigious
status, and submitted a management plan as asked by the UNESCO committee," she added.
Kak said the status would boost tourism sector in the state and in Jaipur, particularly. "Hotel industry will get benefits following the status. The state
government would also consider over concessions which can be offered to the industry. We expect that tourists inflow which is around 8 lakh
would increase during the upcoming tourists'season," she said.
The ancient observatory, built by the Maharaja Jai Singh II who himself was a celebrated
astronomer between 1727 and 1734, is one of the most visited tourist places in the Pink City.
The Maharaja had built a total of five such facilities at different
locations in India, including the ones at Delhi and Jaipur. However, the Jaipur
observatory is the largest of these. Ujjain, Mathura and Varansi have also these 'Calculation Instrument' of ancient India.
The observatory has religious significance and ancient Indian astronomers used it to understand the celestial phenomenon.
It consists of fourteen major geometric devices for measuring time,
predicting eclipses, tracking stars' location as the earth orbits around
the sun, ascertaining the declinations of planets, and determining the
celestial altitudes and related ephemerids.
Jantar Mantar is one the largest and the best maintained of the
five observatories built by Sawai Jai Singh II. The other observatories are in Ujjain, Delhi, Varanasi, Mathura.
Jantar Mantar, meaning calculation instrument, consists of major
geometric devices to calculate time, track stars? location, predict
eclipses and determine other celestial movements.The giant sundial ?Samrat Yantra? is a major attraction at the Jantar
Mantar in Jaipur which was declared a national monument in 1948. It is
still used by local astronomers to predict weather, especially intensity
of monsoon, though it is a debatable ritual in modern times. |
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