Several monuments built during the Adil Shahi dynasty lie neglected in Vijayapura

BENGALURU: The department of archaeology, museums and heritage will survey 25,000 monuments and other places of historical importance across the state. The aim is to shortlist certain structures and add them to the list of ‘declared monuments’ to protect them and take up renovation work if necessary.

Karnataka has 832 protected monuments spread across 30 districts. These have been constructed by rulers from dynasties like Kadambas, Gangas, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Hoysalas, Vijayanagar empire, Mysore Wadiyars and Muslim rulers under Bahmani, Adil Shahi, among others.

T Venkatesh, commissioner, department of archaeology, museums and heritage, said apart from the declared monuments, Karnataka has 25,000 to 30,000 undeclared ones and other places of historical and cultural importance.

‘Lacks documentation’

“Maintenance of monuments is spread across various departments like the muzrai and some are even under private management. What’s lacking is proper documentation of these monuments. The survey to be taken up in the coming months will gather details about the status of these monuments, history, importance, ownership and tourism potential. We will divide the monuments into three categories — declared ones, those which need immediate declaration and the rest to be documented for further studies. Since it’d be a massive exercise, we will seek help from universities and non-government organisations involved in the heritage field,” said Venkatesh.

A source said tagging structures as ‘declared monuments’ won’t be easy. “Many are temple structures and located in human habitats. Once a structure is tagged a ‘declared monument’, there’d be restrictions on construction and development work within a certain radius. This could lead to clashes. The department has to take every stakeholder into confidence,” he added.

Karnataka’s archaeology and museums department is the oldest in the country, started by the Mysore royals in 1885 under the leadership of BL Rice, a British historian, archaeologist and educationist.

