Cuttack: The historical site of Sisupalgarh on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar is yet to get a boundary wall as Odisha government and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) continues to shift the responsibility for its construction.
In its reply to a notice of Orissa High Court seeking ASI’s response on steps to be taken to check encroachments in the area, Assistant Solicitor General of India Prasanna Parhi on Wednesday said the state government is yet to demarcate the entire protected area of the ancient site. Parhi made the submission on behalf of the ASI.
The court was hearing a PIL filed by Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) 14 years back for protection of the site.
Earlier, State counsel Debakanta Mohanty had claimed before the High Court that 0.775 acre of the Sisupalgarh ruins have been notified after demarcating the boundary around it with the pillar postings.
There is no encroachment by any private person in the area and construction of the boundary wall around it is the sole responsibility of ASI as it is within its protected area, TNIE quoted Mohanty as stating.
A division bench of Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Justice BP Routray had sought response from ASI with regards to the affidavit filed by the State government and steps to be taken to check further encroachments in the protected area.
In the affidavit, State Archaeology’s Superintendent Aswini Satpathy had stated that the Culture department had written to the ASI, Bhubaneswar Circle on June 18, 2021 for construction of the boundary wall.
It may be noted that more than 2,000-year-old remains of a fortified city at Sisupalgarh were excavated by ASI in 1948. Subsequently, an area of 562.681 acre was declared as an ancient monument on November 13, 1950.
But most of the areas were encroached over the years and 0.775 acre was recorded in the name of ASI in 1982.
