Excavation work under Ekamra Kshetra beautification drive done without informing ASI: Jt DG

The Archaeological Survey ofIndia Wednesday said that the Odisha government has not soughtprior permission from the National Mission on Monument andAntiquities before undertaking excavation activities under theEkamra Kshetra beautification drive in the state capital.

This was stated by ASI Joint Director General, NMMA,Sanjay Kumar Manjul, who visited the excavation site nearSuka-Sari temple in the state capital to inspect the siteafter some workers engaged in Ekamra Kshetra beautificationdrive discovered an ancient stone structure, suspected to bepart of an ancient temple buried under the earth, last month.

''Excavation of the site near Suka-sari temple was donewithout informing the Archaeological Survey of India,'' Manjulsaid, adding that one has to see the prima facie after lookingat the pictures of the previous and the present situation.

He was here to verify if any damage was caused to theheritage site during the recent excavation work. Manjul'svisit came after Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan urged theCentre to rush a team of experts to oversee whether the newlyfound stone structure was part of an ancient temple.

The stone, which has inscription of arts, came to thelight while the Odisha Bridge and Construction CorporationLimited and Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) startedexcavation as part of the Ekamra Kshetra beautification work.

According to the rules, the 100 metres area from theprotected monument like Lord Lingaraj Temple is a protectedarea while no activities can be carried out within 300 metersfrom the main monument. However, the rules are not followedwhile undertaking the excavation near Suika-sari temple, whichis also close to Lord Lingaraj Temple.

ASI is the custodian of the Suka-Sari temples (10th-11th Somavamshi period), and these shrines are protected underthe Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act(AMASR Act).

ASI Superintending Engineer Arun Malick said that thestate agencies engaged in the Ekamra Kshetra beautificationdrive should share the master plan with the ASI which shouldbe studied by the experts in ASI headquarters before startingwork in the heritage zone.