HYDERABAD: On the second day of evaluation of the 800-year-old Ramappa Temple, after it was nominated as the lone entry from India to get enlisted as UNESCO’s World Heritage site, Vasu Poshayanandana, an expert from the International Council on Monuments and Structures (ICOMOS) also observed all the ancient structures in the surroundings of the heritage site.
He interacted with the people of Palampet village, taking into consideration their opinion on whether the temple should be accorded the world heritage site tag.
“Vasu Poshayanandana specifically inspected the peripheral area of the temple, including both, the prohibited and the restricted zone,” Panduranga Rao, official from Kakatiya Heritage Trust, told Express.
He further explained, “The prohibited area is the 100-metre radius around the temple where no construction is allowed, and the restricted area is the 200-metre radius around the temple with a similar rule.”
Poshayanandana along with members from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Kakatiya Heritage Trust, District collector C Narayana Reddy and Superintendent of Police Sangram Singh Patil also visited the Ramappa Lake and also took a boat ride in the lake. The lake is one of the prominent reservoirs built by Kakatiya rulers.
At Palampet village, Vasu interacted with people and asked if they want the temple to be given the UNESCO’s heritage site tag. The villagers responded saying that the temple makes their village popular, and so, the tag would additionally help them in many ways, such as boosting local business and generating employment for the locals. More income means good maintenance of the temple as well, they commented in unison.
He said that the authority to give the heritage site tag is decided by the UNESCO committee which will convene in 2020, however, he assured that he would submit a positive report about the temple to UNESCO.
The Kakatiya Heritage Trust and ASI officials presented a two-hour long presentation after the first-day inspection, to answer any questions Poshayanandana had, along with the release of a book about the Ramappa Temple titled, ‘Ramappa Temple — Crest Jewel of Kakatiya Art and Architecture’ written by Dr Choodamani Nandagopal. The book was released by Jahnwij Sharma, joint director general, ASI during the presentation of the nomination of Ramappa Temple to the ICOMOS delegation by Kakatiya Heritage.