KOCHI: Aiming to preserve cultural and heritage sites in Mattancherry and Fort Kochi, and to create awareness among local residents and tourists on their significance, the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) is set to launch a website detailing 200 identified heritage sites.
These sites have been geotagged using the geographic information system (GIS). “Visitors can access the brief historical descriptions and other details of the sites by clicking on the photos. The initiative aims to preserve these sites and help tourists understand the significance of the sites better,” said historian Bony Thomas who carried out the research for the project.
A team of experts under him had completed the study and the geotagging process in two years.
Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas will launch the website on Friday.
“The main objective of the project is to prepare a GIS database of heritage sites in Fort Kochi and Mattancherry to preserve these sites and to introduce them to tourists,” GCDA executive committee member A B Sabu said. The new system will be useful for tourist guides to present cultural and heritage spots, historical structures, and relics of Kochi before the world, he said. “This mapping will be the first step towards preparing Kochi as a living digital museum,” Sabu said.
These 200 heritage sites include historical buildings, ancient monuments, religious buildings, geographical features, tastes, celebrations, cultures and people, Bony said.
“The data has been prepared based on books, articles, archived documents, newspaper reports, heritage stories, and old records preserved by individuals and groups,” he said.
The project, which was included in the 2022-23 GCDA budget, was implemented in collaboration with the Cochin Heritage Zone Conservation Society (CHZCS). “Initially, the aim was to identify and provide details of 100 heritage sites in the area. On investigation, we found there are around 200 such sites. Fort Kochi and Mattancherry have a rich history and a diverse heritage, with the presence of various communities. If we search further, we may find more heritage sites in the area,” Bony added.