The French Ambassador to India, Emmanuel Lenain on Saturday assured support for the restoration and conservation of Chandigarh’s architectural heritage Lenain, who called on Punjab Governor and Administrator of Union Territory (UT) Chandigarh, Banwarilal Purohit, during his visit to Chandigarh today, said French experts will look into the restoration and conservation works in Capitol Complex and other concrete buildings.

The Administrator, UT, said that Chandigarh’s French connection can never be forgotten because from the conceptualisation of the city to its planning and execution, the French contribution has been immense. He said that French Architect Le Corbusier designed this ‘City Beautiful’ and the French consultants are now rendering expertise in transforming the City into the ‘Smart City.

He said that Chandigarh will look forward towards French expertise in the area of identification, restoration and legal protection of heritage furniture as well as in the preservation of architectural heritage of the City.

Purohit appreciated French support in the water supply project. To cater to the gap of demand and supply in water, a 24X7 water supply project is to be initiated soon in the City with the financial assistance from the French Government Development Agency.

The French envoy suggested partnerships with higher educational institutions for greater educational opportunities for students of India in France. ‘As of now nearly 10,000 students from India are studying in France and we hope that the number will double by next year’, he said.

Lenain said the two countries have shared good working relations and added that finding new solutions in areas of mutual interest would further help in strengthening the relations.

An official spokesperson said tie-ups for knowledge sharing in the field of architecture, and ideas for traffic management in the City of Paris pattern were among the other things touched upon.

The information on clean, green Smart City Project, urban renewal of villages, waste management and upgrading of infrastructure was shared, the spokesperson added.