Chandikhole: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has launched efforts to include the three famous Buddhist sites of Udayagiri, Lalitgiri, and Ratnagiri, the Langudi hill as well as the newly-discovered Parabhadi hill in the world heritage list, a report said Friday. The world-famous Buddhist heritage sites Udayagiri, Lalitgiri, and Ratnagiri are known as the Diamond Triangle of Odisha. The Langudi Hill and the newly-discovered Parabhadi Hill with a Buddhist stupa are also significant places of interest indicative of a flourishing Buddhist culture and religion in the past. The announcement has spread cheers among the local residents.
Taking these things into consideration, the ASI has launched efforts to include these five places in the world heritage site list. The ASI will establish a museum at Udayagiri, employ staff, and build quarters for them to protect the museum. This was stated here by senior ASI officials who took a tour of Udayagiri, Parabhadi, and Lalitgiri and launched survey works on the sites, last Tuesday.
The ASI team consisting of Puri circle Superintendent Brajasundar Debashish Gadnayak, former superintendents Ashok Patel, Jeevan Patnaik, Sunil Pattanaik and students engaged in archaeological research participated in the visit. They said a proposal to this effect has been sent for including these sites in the world heritage list on the lines of Bodhagaya and Nalanda of Bihar.
The officials said that among the various Buddhist sculptures discovered in the world, the Buddhist shrines of Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri, and Udayagiri have many Buddhist sculptures which are of ancient times. These sites have many Buddhist-era stupas, ‘Bouddha Vihars’, and idols that date back to the 2nd century BC to 12th century BC. They said that very soon a museum will be established at Udayagiri while museums have already been established at Lalitgiri and Ratnagiri. They said that India is a storehouse of art, culture, and heritage. The ancient sculptures discovered from these sites are indicative of our rich culture and heritage. They hoped that very soon these sites will get the world heritage site tag. The ASI team after their arrival was welcomed by Arundhati Devi, convener Maheswar Bal, Bhagyadhar Sahu, Shailendra Ray, Pradipta Deo, Ramachandra Samal, Kishore Chandra Das and Surmohan Mohapatra and the members of Udayagiri Buddha Mahotsav committee.
