GIS-based mapping of heritage locales in Fort Kochi, Mattancherry to be launched in February

GCDA to feature 200 heritage structures in Fort Kochi and Mattancherry on GIS-based mapping website for conservation and tourism.

The Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) is gearing up to include a list of 200 heritage structures on its website as part of the Geographic Information System (GIS)-based mapping of heritage structures/locales in Fort Kochi and Mattancherry.

The aim is to ready the GIS database of the structures and locations along with their geo-tagged photos, videos, details of their historical significance, unique architectural styles, present condition, and coordinates. Apart from helping conserve them, the initiative will benefit, among others, researchers, tourists, government agencies, and members of the public, says a release.

Visitors to such sites could highlight the locales on the map to plan their trips better. The project would also help present them before a global audience through a ‘living digital museum’ while also empowering tourism professionals. It would help efforts made by the Kochi Corporation and the Centre for Heritage, Environment and Development (C-HED) to declare Kochi as a heritage city, said K. Chandran Pillai, GCDA Chairman.

The project would also shed light on aspects like local food, places of worship, people from varied cultures settled at a place, and celebrations. Their details were collected from books, archives, media reports, heritage stories, and manuscripts. The website featuring these places will be launched by Minister for Tourism P.A. Mohamed Riyas in the first week of February.

Principal researcher of the project Bony Thomas said Kochi rose to global fame as a port and trade centre through Fort Kochi and Mattancherry in the 14th century, especially through trade that was done with Arabs, Jews, and the Chinese. This was followed by the arrival of the Portuguese, Dutch and English colonial powers, all of whom left behind substantial number of heritage structures and multiple cultural influences.