Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam   

ENC keen on sprucing up Buddhist sites

VISAKHAPATNAM: The Eastern Naval Command (ENC) here, in a rare gesture, has come forward to take up sprucing of the Buddhist monastic complexes at Bavikonda and Thotlakonda under the aegis of INTACH, Visakhapatnam.

INTACH convener Rani Sarma said that it was the Indian Navy which discovered these Buddhist sites in the early eighties.

Unfortunately, Bavikonda was vandalised in April this year.

The two sites and their environs are strewn with plastic bags, liquor bottles and other garbage that are left behind by picnickers and other visitors. The signage put in place to indicate the various structures has been removed and even the boards giving the history of the two sites have been scribbled over and mutilated, she noted.

“We need to protect our heritage, which is a great asset to us, carefully and conserve it for future generations. To draw the attention of the visitors to the sites and to underscore the need to treat our heritage with reverence and respect, the Visakhapatnam Chapter of INTACH, the Department of Archaeology of Andhra Pradesh and the Indian Navy have come together to clean the sites and repair the signage,” Ms. Rani Sarma said.

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