& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Saving Pompeii from the ravages of time and tourists
Citing threats to public security and to the site itself, the Italian government has for the first time declared a yearlong state of emergency for the ancient ci tyof Pompeii.
Nearly 2.000 years after Mount Vesuvius buried Pompeii under pumice and steaming volcanic ash, some 2.6 million tourists tramp annually through this archaeological site, which is on UNESCO's Wo rid Hen tage list.
Frescoes in the ancient Roman city, one of Italy’s most popular attractions, fade under the blistering sun or are chipped at by souvenir hunters. Mosaics endure the brunt of tens of thousands of shufflingthongsand sneakers. Teetering columns and walls are propped up by wooden and steel scaffolding. Rusty padlocks deny access to recently restored houses, and custodians seem to be few and far between.
This month the government drafted a retired lawman, Renato Profili, the former prefect of Naples, to map out a strategy to combat neglect and degradation at the site. Profili has been given special powers for one year so he" can bypass the Italian bureaucracy and speedily bolster security and stop the disintegration
The hope is that many-houses and villas now closed to the public and exposed to looting and vandalism will soon be opened and protected.
"Pompeii i*.t callingc ird of Italy .for foreigners, and it s important
that their impression be positive." said Italy's culture minister, Sandro Bondi He directed Profili to crack down on “blatant abuses" like unlicensed tour guides and the souvenir vendors who aggressively approach tourists.
Bondi also said Uiat Profili would explore "new forms of innovative management" in which private sponsors might be recruited to finance improvements.
Government red tape is blamed for some of the inefficiencies at
Pompeii “If 1 have to fix a broken wall," said Pietro Giovanni Guzzo, the superintendent of the ruins, "I first have to put out a tender for an architect toevaluate the damage.
"Then I have to put out a tender for a company to fix the wall. Then I have to see if I have enough money in my budget to pay for the repair, and then finally the work begins.
"If he can bypass all that, it would be very positive."
"Is there an emergency? I don't know, I ve always been very clear
about the problems at Pompeii," Guzzo added. "The situation here is so immense that ordinary means haven't been able to control it."
The 109-acre ruins, about an eighth the size of Central Park (50 more acres or so are underground), are severely understaffed. Workers are prone to wildcat stnkes that can leave visitors standing outside locked gates. Local criminal organisations must constantly be kept at bay when bids are solicited for maintenance work or for oper-
ating public concessions at the site.
Still, Guzzo said he had made some progress since he assumed his post in 1995. Visitors now have access to 35 percent of the ruins, compared with 14 percent when he first arrived. He admitted, however. that this improvement was "a drop in the bucket."
Ticket-sale proceeds and financing from the European Union and local governments have not met Pompeii's bottomless financial needs. "Modern cities are constantly plagued by unforeseen expenses,” said Giuseppe Proietti, the culture ministry's secretary general. "Just put that in the context of an enormous ancient site exposed to the elements."
That chronic shortfall has brought suggestions that investors should operate Pompeii. The ruins should "be put in a condition where people can best appreciate their beauty, because that's money to the area,” said Antonio Irlando, an architect and the president of a local conservation group that meticulously monitors Pompeii’s cracking walls, falling stones, abandoned work sites and flaking intonaco, the thin layer of.plaster on which a fresco is painted. "This is an area with high unemployment and that shouldn’t be the case, because it has an immense patrimony.”
Source Internet