Lotus Mahal wall in Hampi collapses 

KARWAR: A portion of a wall, said to be on the boundary of heritage monument Lotus Mahal, caved in on Friday. Locals have blamed it on the indiscriminate borewell drilling here but the Archeological Survey of India has said that it was a loosely constructed rubble wall and it could be repaired.  “The wall is a part of the Lotus Mahal heritage block. It is near the entrance,” G Santosh, a local activist and guide, told TNIE.

He said that the wall was made up of rubble and mud and bore the brunt of a borewell being drilled nearby. “It has been two days. The drilling was making the ground vibrate. They should be careful while drilling a borewell near the monument,” he said. However, the ASI said that it was just a dry masonry wall and it caved in. “It will be repaired immediately.

We are in the process to identify more such damage,” P Kalimuthu, Superintending Archeologist, Hampi Mini Circle, Archeological Survey of India, said. Kalimuthun also visited the site and the local activist Vishwanath Malagi, President, Vijayanagara Smaraka Samrakshana Samithi, and others explained to him the reason the wall collapsed.