The revitalisation of Kalighat Temple represents a complex urban heritage intervention shaped through sustained engagement with one of Kolkata’s most significant religious and cultural precincts.
The practice’s first involvement with the site began through an environmental improvement, beautification, and rehabilitation initiative commissioned by the West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation.
Given the multiplicity of stakeholders—including temple authorities, shopkeepers, local residents, pilgrims, and civic agencies—the project focused on establishing a process of negotiated development capable of balancing competing interests while enabling holistic and long-term improvement of the precinct.
The objective was not simply physical enhancement, but the creation of a sensitive planning framework that would improve environmental quality, public access, and operational efficiency while safeguarding the social and economic ecosystems that define the temple’s surroundings.
A subsequent engagement in 2018 was initiated by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation in response to directives issued by the Calcutta High Court regarding the removal of obstructions within the temple precinct—particularly the informal dala shops—and the provision of appropriate rehabilitation alternatives.
A preliminary revitalisation plan was developed and subsequently accepted for phased implementation.
The key strategies for this phase included the rehabilitation and relocation of existing dala shops, expansion of the usable temple precinct, and critical infrastructural and service upgrades.
The proposal also introduced measures to improve safety, security, and crowd management through clearer spatial delineation, regulated access points, and enhanced movement systems designed to accommodate the temple’s high footfall.
Importantly, the planning process involved active dialogue with stakeholder groups, enabling broad-based acceptance of the proposed interventions through consensus-building and transparent negotiation.
The project demonstrates how sensitive urban revitalisation of active religious precincts requires a careful balance between heritage conservation, civic management, livelihood protection, and public accessibility.
- Location: Kalighat Temple, Kolkata
- Category: Public
- Client: West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation, Kolkata Municipal Corporation
- Year: 2009, 2018
