• The 606-year-old walled city of Ahmedabad, which was founded by Sultan Ahmed Shah, has become India’s first World Heritage City. The World Heritage Committee (WHC) of UNESCO announced this.

• Ahmedabad is recognized the city as the cradle of India’s non-violent freedom struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi.

• The decision was taken during the ongoing 41st session of the World Heritage Committee in the Polish city of Krakow, which acknowledged the preservation efforts made by the city in keeping its historical fabric intact.

• The city’s historic characteristics include densely-packed traditional houses (‘pols’) in gated traditional streets (‘puras’) with features such as bird feeders, public wells and religious institutions.

• The Walled City of Ahmedabad will now join the likes of Paris, Cairo, and Edinburgh. Of the 287 World Heritage Cities across the globe, only two were hitherto on the Indian subcontinent: Bhaktpur in Nepal and Galle in Sri Lanka.

• The Unesco tag will add immense brand value to the city and boost tourism.

Source:TH