VISAKHAPATNAM: The State government has declared the Panchadarla Pilgrimage Hills in Rambilli mandal of Anakapalli district a ‘No Mining Zone’, citing the religious, cultural, archaeological, ecological and hydrological significance of the hills.
It has also initiated the termination of a 10-year gravel quarry lease spread over 2.153 hectares in Survey No.1 of Panchadarla village.
The lease, held by Vijay Kumar Naidu Dasamnani, granted in May this year, was originally valid until May 14, 2036. The decision assumes significance given the archaeological and environmental importance of the Panchadarla temple and its surroundings.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) documented 17 inscriptions at the Panchadarla temple in Dharapalem in the year 1899.
The inscriptions have since been published in South Indian Inscriptions, Volume VI, providing historical records of the rulers, queens, religious endowments and construction activities associated with the temple and the region.
This place derives its name from five jets of water gushing from five fountains. One inscription records that a ruler built the Antaralamandapa of the temple and that his queen, Virama, constructed a tank known as Virasagara.
Another inscription records the construction of a gopura at the Southern entrance of the temple by Sridhara-Rajamarendramahapatra on the banks of the Panchadhara.