KOLKATA: The Hooghly isn't just an Indian river but belongs to the world, historian and international authority on heritage conservation Philip Davies said at a seminar on heritage based urban development for the Hooghly riverfront held in the city on Wednesday.

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Davies and architect Partha Ranjan Das have had a taste of it in the past. While it took Moe Chiba, the section chief and programme specialist (culture) Unesco, nine years to bring all stakeholders, including Kolkata Port Trust, Railways and PWD, on a single platform, Davies had prepared a blueprint for restoration and development of the Strand Warehouses in Kolkata 12 years ago but it is yet to take off. Das, too, had prepared a land use development plan for the entire heritage stretch along Hooghly but it has been gathering dust as well.

"There has been enough talk. It is time for decisive action," Davies said at the seminar organized jointly by Unesco, the state government and non-government organization Indian Heritage Cities Network. "The inertia here is frustrating when compared to what is happening elsewhere. Kolkata has been extremely slow in taking advantage of its heritage resources. The delay could lead to destruction of what is unique. Already, one of the warehouses has been lost. Letting the warehouses rot is a dreadful waste of opportunity. In the past 50 years, they could have fetched crores of rupees in income and generated many jobs. Political will is needed to drive such an initiative. The involvement of chief minister and mayor is crucial," he said.

While the heritage precincts in the erstwhile colonies have been identified and some restoration work funded by Dutch and Danish governments has already begun, Davies suggested that one of the options to fund the initiative could be to use cross-subsidy.

"There are areas along the riverbank that can be developed by private parties. The development will be in sync with the overall master plan. The funds generated from these projects can go into restoring the heritage zones and bringing them back to life," he said.