Pradhan seeks detailed scientific excavation of Ekamra Kshetra

Bhubaneswar: Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday sought Centre’s intervention in carrying out a detailed scientific excavation of the heritage-rich Ekamra Kshetra in Bhubaneswar.

In a letter to Union Minister for Tourism and Culture, Pralhad Singh Patel, Pradhan sought urgent intervention for the preservation of the rich cultural and architectural heritage of the country by protecting centuries-old temples in Bhubaneswar.

He urged the Minister to direct the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to send an expert team to Bhubaneswar for carrying out a detailed study and through scientific excavation of the Ekamra Kshetra area of Bhubaneswar for unearthing heritage structures which may be buried under encroachments on an expedient basis.

Notably, the Bhubaneswar circle of Archeological Survey of India (ASI) recently discovered invaluable remains of a 10th or 11th century Somavanshi period temple floor at the north-west corner of Sari temple.

The ASI team was carrying out scientific cleaning of the two-acre land adjacent to the Suka-Sari temple complex in heritage Ekamra Kshetra in Bhubaneswar.

The Suka-Sari temple complex and Lord Lingaraj in Bhubaneswar are protected by ASI under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act (AMASR Act).

“There is an urgent need to act quickly to salvage and preserve what remains of this ancient Odishan architecture,” said Pradhan.