Archaeological staff takes possession of idol

Warangal: Startled by The Hans India report, the State Archaeological Department on Saturday rushed its staff to take possession of the ancient sculpture of an unidentified deity which was surfaced during the Mission Kakatiya works in Padmakshi temple gundam (pond) a couple of days ago. The staff that collected the idol placed it in the district museum located on the premises of Municipal Corporation office.

Alerted by this newspaper’s call on Friday, the State Archaeological Department In-charge Assistant Director B Ganga Devi spoke to her departmental heads and had instructed the staff in Hanamkonda to collect the idol and place it in the district museum.It may be noted here that this newspaper has on Saturday carried a story on the abandoned sculpture, believed to be dating back to Kakatiya period (11th to 14th century), and the lack of coordination among the agencies concerned - irrigation, revenue, endowments and archaeological departments - before launching the Mission Kakatiya works.

Meanwhile, quite a few eyebrows were raised over the government’s move to desilt the Padmakshi gundam which has no ayacut under it. The cost of the restoration works is Rs 90.82 lakh. Questioning the rationale behind bringing the pond under Mission Kakatiya Phase-II, the Forum for Better Warangal president Pulluru Sudhakar told The Hans India: “Though the site didn’t come under the ambit of protected monuments, the government should have sought the opinion of the endowments and archaeological departments before launching the works.”

Using excavation techniques such as trench and in the presence of agencies concerned, the administration would have taken up the desilting works, he said. Retired Deputy Director of the Archaeological Department Rangacharyulu, who examined the sculpture, said that the idol which belongs to Kakatiya era is of a Shaivite Dwarapala. Similar idols were found in Katakshapur and Mulugu Ghanpur, he added.