JOIN USInformation on and three-dimensional images of monuments of historical importance and museums of Karnataka will soon be available on Google search engine.
The State department of Archeology, Museums and Heritage and the Google Cultural Institute recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to implement the project. Google has agreed to implement it free of cost and the department will only provide necessary information, Principal Secretary to Kannada and Culture department Shalini Rajneesh said.
3D mapping, videographing and Google+ page of 772 State protected monuments, including Mysore Palace (Mysore), Srirangapatna Fort (Mandya), Kempe Gowda Watch Towers, Gangadhareshwara temple (Bangalore Urban), Magadi Fort (Ramanagar), Kittur Fort (Belgaum), Raja’s Tomb (Kodagu) and 14 museums coming under the department will be done under the project. Google has already begun its work in Mysore. It is currently mapping Mysore Palace and Chamundeshwari temple.
However, about 600 monuments coming under the Centre’s Archaeological Survey of India in the State are not covered under the project.
“The idea is to provide a virtual tour of the State-protected monuments to people using technology. Information and images of the monuments will be made available worldwide and it will help in educating people about the rich heritage of the State,” she stated.
The Kannada and Cultural department, the mother department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage, has, however, put certain riders to Google.
The department has approved the project on the condition that mapping of the monuments should not infringe upon the rule of secrecy at these places. Only those monuments that are approved by the Commissioner of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage can be mapped.
The Commissioner has been authorised to ensure that the mapping does not violate rules related to preservation and conservation of monuments. In the event of the project running into any dispute, the government will have the right to appoint an arbitrator, as per the conditions laid down by the department.