Encroachers eat into 24 monuments, UP tops list

DELHI, MAHARASHTRA, ASSAM, AP, MP AND HARYANA HAVE ONE TO TWO UNTRACEABLE MONUMENTS EACH, THE DATA PRODUCED BY CULTURE MINISTER REVEALS

NEWDELHI: As many as 24 monuments of historical importance have ceased to exist in various parts of the country due to encroachments, the Parliament was informed on Monday.

Uttar Pradesh tops the list of the states with 11 untraceable monuments, while Delhi, MP, Maharashtra, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Haryana have one to two untraceable monuments each, the data produced by culture minister Mahesh Sharma states.

The monuments which have disappeared in UP include ruins of three small Linga temple circa 1,000 AD in Ahugi Mirzapur, three sites with megaliths on the western and north eastern toes of the hill in Chandauli, a tablet on treasury building in Varanasi, Telia Nala Buddhist ruins in Varanasi, a Banyan grove containing traces of ancient building at Amavey in Ballia, the Closed Cemetery at Katra Naka in Banda, Gunner Burkill’s Tomb at Lalitpur, Three Tombs on LucknowFaizabad Road, Cemeteries at miles 6 and 7 on Jahraila Road in Lucknow and Cemetery at Gaughat in Lucknow and Sandi-Khera at Shahabad in Hardoi.

It is alleged that in absence of strong laws and adequate infrastructure and manpower of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), encroachers have a free run who ruin monuments, sites and buildings of historical monuments.

ASI protects 3,686 heritage sites in the country.

The data showed that Delhi has lost two monuments — Bara Khamba Cemetery and Inchla Wali Gumti at Mubarakpur, while Assam has lost the Guns of Emperor Sher Shah. In Arunachal Pradesh, the ruins of Copper Temple at Paya, Lohit is lost, while in Haryana, Kos Minars at Mujesar and Shahabad have gone missing. Uttarakhand’s Kutumbari Temple at Dwarahat, Almora, and Madhya Pradesh’s Rock Inscription at Satna, are in the list of untraceable monuments. Maharashtra’s Old European Tomb, Inscription Nagar Tonk in Rajasthan, 12th century temple in Baran and ruins of Bamanpukur fort in Bengal are also in the list.