Landlords relent, excavators to hit Keezhadi by Feb-end

CHENNAI:With the district administration resolving the issues raised by landlords of Keezhadi in Sivaganga district over ensuring protection of their farmland and agricultural fields, the State Archaeology Department is set to hit the ground by this month-end.

A team of revenue officials in Sivaganga conducted several rounds of talks with the agitating landlords, who raised objection to laying of an approach road to the excavation site, besides highlighting issues of damage to farmland and crops inflicted by visitors.“We have thrashed out the problems raised by the local landlords after as many rounds of talks. They have agreed for laying the approach road,” a senior official said.  

As the hurdles were cleared, the State department of Archaeology is expected to expedite the formalities before dropping the pick axe on the promising site at Keezhadi.At the excavation site, brick structures found during earlier excavations conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had given evidence about the existence of urban civilisation in ancient Tamil Nadu.A team of officials of State department of Archaeology will land at Keezhadi shortly to choose the precise site to dig the ground with the help of experts of Bharathidasan University.

K Balasubramani, Assistant professor, department of Geography, Bharathidasan University, has been roped in to carry out the site selection work using the geo-penetrating radar system.A top official of the Tamil Nadu Archaeology department told Express, “We are visiting Keezhadi on Thursday. After choosing the exact site for digging, we will sign an agreement with the local landlords.”The excavation in Keezhadi will be set in motion by the end of February. Minister for Tamil Official Language and Culture K Pandiarajan is expected to launch the project.

“We are set to begin the excavation in Keezhadi by the end of February as all the formalities will be completed by then,” the official said.A seven-member team of archaeologists will be manning the digging work which also involves contingents of surveyors, draftsmen, engineers and technicians.About `55 lakh is expected to be released in a day or two as a Government Order had already been issued.