HAMPI/HOSAPETE: A fresh controversy erupted at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hampi after a local activist filed a police complaint alleging that a historic pillar near the underground Shiva Temple was damaged and later made to disappear during an ASI restoration project.
T Shivakumar, resident of Kamalapur, who also serves as the Vijayanagara district president of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike Janasena alleged that a stone pillar belonging to the Vijayanagara Empire era was broken by machines during the construction of a sidewall under the ASI-led restoration works.
Shivakumar said that he had alerted the ASI on December 2 about the use of heavy machinery and the suspected damage to heritage stones. “No action was taken. Later, the very same pillar was not only broken but has now gone missing. ASI officials must be questioned,” he said in his complaint.
A photograph circulated by locals appears to show the damaged remains of the pillar lying near the underground Shiva Temple, further fuelling public concern over the safety of the site’s centuries-old structures.