Press Releases

U.S. AWARDS GRANT FOR RENOVATION OF HISTORICAL SITES AT THE LALGOLA CORRECTIONAL HOME IN WEST BENGAL

January 30, 2008

KOLKATA -- The U.S. Consul General in Kolkata Henry V. Jardine today handed over a check of Rs. 2,775, 000 ($63,000 approximately) to West Bengal State Convenor of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) G. M. Kapur at the American Center in Kolkata.  This grant, awarded through the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation, will go towards the renovation of the historic Lalgola site in Murshidabad district in West Bengal.

The proposal to restore the historical structures at the Lalgola Correctional Home in Murshidabad, submitted with the support of the American Center in Kolkata by INTACH has competed internationally and won the award. This was the only proposal to be awarded for India during the current round of competition, which shows the importance the U.S. government places on the goals of this particular restoration project. This award will allow INTACH to not only renovate the historic structures but also to provide vocational training to inmates housed at the Lalgola Correctional Home.

The Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation helps countries around the globe preserve historic sites and manuscripts, museum collections, and traditional forms of expression such as music, dance, and language.  The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs administers the Fund, established by Congress in 2001.  To date, the Ambassador's Fund has supported more than 300 projects worldwide totaling more than $11 million.

In 2005, The Fund awarded a grant to the East and West Educational Society of Patna to fund a survey of 25 districts in Bihar to document Islamic and Hindu 15^th and 16^th century architecture.  The world-renowned Khuda Baksh Library in Patna has been an important partner in this project. In 2004, a grant by the Ambassador’s Fund also helped preserve art, architecture and traditional crafts in Bishnupur in West Bengal’s Bankura district.  This project, also through a proposal submitted by INTACH, has assisted the Archeological Society of India in its efforts to preserve the cultural legacy of this important Bengali historical site. A grant was also awarded in 2002 to the Sikkim Research Institute of Tibetology, in Gangtok, to help in the preservation of rare paintings, scrolls and other art objects. (Please visit: http://exchanges.state.gov/culprop/afcp/.)