Bagalkot
Tourism Minister HK Patil has said that necessary steps will be taken to preserve the monuments by shifting 124 families who have constructed houses in the ancient monuments of Aihole. Patil, who is on a tour for memorial darshan and conservation, visited Aihole and took stock of the ground situation of the monuments.
Later, addressing a press conference, he said, when I come to Aihole tourist destination, I feel a sense of pride and pain. Some people have built houses, tied cattle and sheep and collected agricultural materials at the memorial site in Aihole, which is known as the city of temples. This is making it difficult for tourists and historians to visit these monuments. In view of this, steps have been taken to shift 124 houses adjacent to the monuments in the first phase and the work will be completed by January 30. He assured that the proposal for complete relocation of Aihole village is already with the government and a decision on purchase of additional land will be taken with the revenue department by December 15.Even after 75 years of Independence, the ancient temples have not been fully preserved and organised. Half of the monuments have been taken up for conservation by the Archaeological Survey of India and one of the 61 monuments related to the state has already been notified. The remaining 60 monuments will be notified by December 30, the Minister said. The work was supposed to be done by the Chalukya Memorial Development Authority as necessary, inevitable, but not done. This is unfortunate, he said. The Director of Tourism Department has been instructed to issue an order appointing Bagalkot sub-divisional officer Shweta Beedikar as Commissioner immediately, he said.
