BENGALURU: Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil on Wednesday said that 101 wells and 101 temples will be excavated in Lakkundi with the help of satellites.
For this, the State Government has collaborated with the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), and a meeting was held on Wednesday with scientists and experts from NIAS.
Since 2023, 70 monuments, including 32 temples, 28 wells, and seven other artefacts, have been discovered in Lakkundi. Efforts are on to unveil 101 wells and 101 temples in Lakkundi by December 31, he told reporters.
He further said that work is on to send a proposal to the Archaeology Survey of India and to UNESCO to include Lakkundi in the World Heritage Site list. The minister added that over 1,500 archaeological remains have been recovered since the first phase of the exploration.
The second phase of exploration began on May 2, and around 1,800 archaeological relics have been found so far. Around 5,000 more are expected to be found by the end of June. Steps are being taken to protect and display them in an open-air museum, he said.
To give Lakkundi temples a new look, five temples and wells were unveiled in February 2026 and unveiling of 10 more wells and temples is underway, Patil said. The task of preserving six monuments has also been initiated at a cost of Rs 10 crore, he said and added that an action plan for protecting 10 more in the financial year 2026-27 is also being prepared.
Former ISRO chairman Kiran Kumar, said that it is necessary to include Lakkundi in the list of World Heritage Sites. He agreed to join hands in all efforts required for unveiling 101 temples and 101 wells using satellite technology.