Karnataka - Madikeri   

ASI seeks custody of Madikeri fort

By Our Staff Correspondent

MADIKERI, JAN. 6. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will develop landscapes around monuments of national importance to enhance their appeal, the Assistant Superintending Archaeologist of the ASI, Bangalore Circle, C.B. Patil, has said.

Speaking to The Hindu at the Fort here on Thursday, Mr. Patil said the ASI will prevent the "invasion of our cultural wealth through urbanisation, pollution, mining, blasts and unauthorised construction." Owing to lack of awareness, monuments have remained neglected. The ASI will reverse this trend, he added.

Development plan

"We have a comprehensive development plan for each site and the entire cost will be borne by the ASI," he said. Mr. Patil is here in connection with the ASI and the National Service Scheme (NSS) initiative to spruce up the Fort and to create awareness among people on the need to conserve monuments.

To a question on conserving the Fort built by the erstwhile rulers of Kodagu, he said the ASI has urged the Government to hand over the heritage site to it for maintenance.

In 2002, the then Director General of the department, Komal Anand, asked the then Chief Secretary to initiate steps to hand over the Fort to the ASI. But it did not evoke any response, he said.

On the poor condition of the fort, which now houses most of the Government departments, Mr. Patil said that if the Deputy Commissioner writes to the ASI, it can take up repair work on the Fort.

The Public Works Department is not the competent authority to take up repair work, he added.

Madikeri Fort is the sixth among the seven forts that will be spruced up by the ASI in association with the NSS. The team will next move to Chandragutti fort.

Ganapathi Gowda, the Kodagu nodal officer of the NSS, said the volunteers have done a commendable job in doing up the fort premises.

Museum

Mr. Patil said that if the Fort is handed over to the ASI, some buildings, which are in ruins behind the Fort, will be restored and converted into a museum. It will be a great tourist attraction, he added.

The ASI intends to involve the local people in preserving the monuments of national importance. The local people are being apprised of the importance of monuments, he said.

The Mullur Jain Temple in Somwarpet taluk, maintained by the ASI, was restored in the early Nineties. Similarly, work on the Daddamalte tombs (megalithic structures), also in Somwarpet taluk, will taken up soon, he added.

Land

Vishwanath, engineer, ASI, said that originally, 48 acres of land belonged to the fort. But now, only 24 acres are available.

However, a survey is being taken up in this regard, he added.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous | Engagements |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Updates: Breaking News |

Stories in this Section

ASI seeks custody of Madikeri fort
Sports enthusiasts opposed to venue of Devaraj Urs Bhavan

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu