MULUGU: Ramappa temple, a poem in architecture, will now get round-the-clock security after its elevation to world heritage site status. The Archeological Survey of India (ASI), in the past, had written to the State government to provide police protection to the Kakatiya Rudreshwara temple at Palampet village in Venkatapur mandal of Mulugu district.
As there has been no response from the State government, the ASI has decided to make its own arrangements to preserve the rare form of architecture chiselled by the sculptor Ramappa about 800 years ago, during the reign of the Kakatiyas. The ASI is contemplating to hire security staff to protect the priceless monument.
Speaking to Express, a senior ASI official said that they had already deployed six trained security guards at the temple. He said earlier, the department had written letters to the State government seeking police protection to all archeological sites.
When the ASI sought security for the Ramappa temple, the State government allocated home guards with the proviso that the ASI had to pick up their wage bills. Following this, the ASI outsourced armed private security guards.
Now, after UNESCO has declared the temple as a World Heritage Site, the ASI is preparing proposals to beef up security by deploying more armed guards and by setting up increased surveillance of the area with CCTV cameras, said a senior ASI official.
Mulugu Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Potharaju Sai Chaitanya said that a police picket had been set up at the temple. “We have proposed a permanent police outpost. It will be set up very soon,” added the official.