Bhubaneswar/Jajpur: Voicing concern over man-made interference and encroachment around the Udayagiri Buddhist protected archaeological site, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has asked the civil and police administration in Jajpur district to intervene in the matter.
Udayagiri is widely regarded as one of the largest Buddhist complexes in Odisha, showcasing the region’s rich Buddhist heritage.
It also forms part of the “Diamond Triangle” of Buddhist heritage sites, along with Lalitgiri and Ratnagiri.
The site features ancient monasteries and stupas, with structures dating back to the 7th to 12th centuries.
Illegal construction is reportedly in full swing within a prohibited 200-metre radius at the foot of the protected Buddhist heritage site.
ASI issued a stop-work notice to the encroachers under the legal provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.
The District Collector and Superintendent of Police in Jajpur have been informed of the illegality being perpetrated around the prohibited area of the ASI-protected Buddhist heritage site.
A police complaint has also been lodged in this connection, said Superintending Archaeologist, ASI, Puri circle, Dr Dibishada Brajasundar Garnayak.
Visited by the Chinese traveller Hieun Tsang, the Udayagiri-Ratnagiri- Lalitgiri monasteries were centres of learning at par with their famed counterparts of Nalanda and Taxila, according to Buddhist researchers.
The marvellous and gigantic monasteries are uniquely built and leave visitors awestruck.
Their distinctive style differs from similar Buddhist monuments found elsewhere in India. The entire area still possesses a rich reserve of unexplored Buddhist treasures.
Ninety per cent of Buddhist archaeological treasures continue to remain hidden underground.
If ASI takes up exploring the unexplored remains, the monasteries could lay claim to become one of the finest Buddhist heritage sites of the country, say researchers.
The gigantic stupas and monasteries which bear the signature of Buddhist architectural carving are rare monuments found nowhere in the Indian sub-continent.