The Maharashtra government’s tourism and cultural department is planning to send a dossier to UNESCO for the nomination of sea/coastal forts, including Mumbai’s Madh fort and the petroglyphs of Ratnagiri.
According to reports, Maharashtra’s coastline and the petroglyphs or geoglyphs discovered in the Konkan region in the recent past could be listed as UNESCO world heritage sites.
Additionally, the department is in the process of preparing a dossier of all the coastal forts of the state.
Also Read: Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray launches various tourism projects worth INR 2,905 crores
What is petroglyohs/geoglyphs?
Petroglyphs are images drawn by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving or abrading. They are also called Katal Shilpa locally and are present in and around the Ratnagiri area spread across open spaces on the outskirts of villages.
These petroglyphs vary in shape and size. The carvings cover shapes of human figures, birds, animals, geometric forms and composite creatures.
They are believed to be 12,000 years old and Ratnagiri and Rajapur has more than 1,000 petroglyphs across 60 sites.
Some of these are single and small in size while some come in clusters. An elephant carved on the stone surface is more or less a life-size depiction of an animal.
Besides, the Department of Tourism of Maharashtra government, is pushing several policies to make sure different stakeholders' participate in promoting innovative tourism experiences.
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