Chennai: A long pending demand to bifurcate the Chennai circle of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was realised on Wednesday when Union culture minister Prahlad Singh Patel announced the creation of a new circle headquartered at Trichy.
In a tweet, the minister hailed the contributions of the Chola empire in Tamil Nadu, which is home for temples dating back to 3,000 to 4,000 years. “Trichy would be made a new circle,” he said.
The move would facilitate better maintenance of ASI monuments while allowing addition of more heritage sites for explorations and excavations since the new circle will get separate fund allocations. Several sites in the state are in a state of neglect since Chennai circle had to maintain 411 monuments and sites with a meager annual allocation of Rs 5 crore.
A team of ASI officials headed by a superintendent archaeologist would oversee monuments based out of Trichy. This apart, monuments in Kanyakumari, Tenkasi and Tirunelveli districts that are currently part of Thrissur circle in Kerala will be merged with Trichy circle, said ASI sources. The move would also pave the way for creation of new sub-circles at Madurai and Tuticorin districts.
Archaeologists and heritage enthusiasts were elated over the news. R Komagan, chairman of Gangaikondacholapuram Development Council, which has been representing the Centre for bifurcation of Chennai Circle said that the move would help conserve ancient temples, rock paints and burial sites in Trichy and Madurai regions.
Senior epigraphist and author S Rajavelu, who has been campaigning for ASI’s Trichy chapter for long, hailed the initiative, highlighting the archaeological potential of the southern districts of TN. “Most Tamil-Brahmi caverns in the southern part of Tamil Nadu are under threat due to blasting quarry work. Many Pandya rock cut caves are not preserved well,” he said.
Archaeologists observed that the new circle would support better preservation and conservation of important monuments in central TN. “It would also give better thrust for historical research and the documentation of monuments and sites of this region,” said V Selvakumar of the department of maritime history and marine archaeology, Tamil University, Thanjavur.
In a tweet, the minister hailed the contributions of the Chola empire in Tamil Nadu, which is home for temples dating back to 3,000 to 4,000 years. “Trichy would be made a new circle,” he said.
The move would facilitate better maintenance of ASI monuments while allowing addition of more heritage sites for explorations and excavations since the new circle will get separate fund allocations. Several sites in the state are in a state of neglect since Chennai circle had to maintain 411 monuments and sites with a meager annual allocation of Rs 5 crore.
A team of ASI officials headed by a superintendent archaeologist would oversee monuments based out of Trichy. This apart, monuments in Kanyakumari, Tenkasi and Tirunelveli districts that are currently part of Thrissur circle in Kerala will be merged with Trichy circle, said ASI sources. The move would also pave the way for creation of new sub-circles at Madurai and Tuticorin districts.
Archaeologists and heritage enthusiasts were elated over the news. R Komagan, chairman of Gangaikondacholapuram Development Council, which has been representing the Centre for bifurcation of Chennai Circle said that the move would help conserve ancient temples, rock paints and burial sites in Trichy and Madurai regions.
Senior epigraphist and author S Rajavelu, who has been campaigning for ASI’s Trichy chapter for long, hailed the initiative, highlighting the archaeological potential of the southern districts of TN. “Most Tamil-Brahmi caverns in the southern part of Tamil Nadu are under threat due to blasting quarry work. Many Pandya rock cut caves are not preserved well,” he said.
Archaeologists observed that the new circle would support better preservation and conservation of important monuments in central TN. “It would also give better thrust for historical research and the documentation of monuments and sites of this region,” said V Selvakumar of the department of maritime history and marine archaeology, Tamil University, Thanjavur.
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