BALLARI: Villagers of Sandur taluk have started a signature campaign to save the 1,200-year-old Kumaraswami and Parvati Devi temples in Swamimalai Hill that are being wracked by intense mining activities. Villagers, in association with the Janasangrama Parishad Samaja Parivarthana Sanudaya Samaajamukhi, have carried out the campaign to get the temple, which is under the Archaeological Survey of India, the UNESCO tag which will help protect the historic site better.
The Kumaraswamy temple was constructed before the Vijayanagara Empire. Last year, one of its pillars collapsed because of intense mining activities near the temple, though it is situated within the reserve forest. Some villagers filed a case before the Karnataka High Court against the mining company. The court ordered that a committee from the Environment Board be formed to look into the issue.
Shrisail Aladahalli, leader of the team of villagers, said, “For the last two days, Sandur’s Skanda fair is going on and we are using the crowd to save the Kumaraswami temple. We are conducting a two-day signature campaign at the fair. Despite a high court order to stop mining activities near the temple, some mining companies are not following the directions.”
Stopping mining
He said, “Once the temple is declared a UNESCO-protected site, no mining or non-forestry activities will be allowed. That is the main reason why our team is conducting the signature campaign. Later, we plan to send letters to the UNESCO country head office. We request the state government to immediately announce it as a protected forest, which will make it easy to stop mining activities in the 2 km radius of the temple.”
Another villager said that around 20,000 people are expected to sign the memorandum. Once done, copies will be sent to the Unesco head office and the other to the Karnataka High Court. Our only motto is to save the historic temple for the next generation, he added.
