What UNESCO tag means for Ramappa Temple

‘It will galvanise national and international tourism not historical sites in Telangana’

As the euphoria of inscription of Ramappa Temple as a UNESCO World Heritage Site spreads, it’s natural to question what the tag would mean. Will it lead to the world body giving the temple authorities more money? Will the UNESCO have a say in how the temple is run? Questions like this are being asked by lay people. But what is the truth? “It will galvanise national and international tourism not only to Ramappa but other historical sites in Telangana,” says B.V. Papa Rao of Kakatiya Heritage Trust, who successfully steered the nomination of the Kakatiya-era temple to the coveted tag. A higher number of tourists automatically translates into better amenities and more money for the community where the heritage site is located. According to a report, the number of foreign as well as domestic visitors has gone up by more than 10% after Ahmedabad clinched the World Heritage City tag in 2017.