Goa govt's move to delete heritage monuments raises eyebrows Panaji, Sep 12 (PTI) Goa government's move to delete fourteen heritage monuments from the list of protected sites has raised apprehensions among heritage activists who have termed the deletion as "mysterious". "The disappearance is mysterious...Out of 14 monuments, nine are in the mining zones," Roboni Saha, member of Goa Heritage Action Group (GHAG), a group active in preserving state's heritage, told reporters here.
GHAG, which has sited the slip in the State Government's notification issued on August 14, is apprehensive that the ban on mining activity surrounding these sites may have forced the State Government to delete them from the list. Goa has robust iron ore mining industry and is India's largest iron ore exporter. The Goa Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1978 and rules, 1980 bans mining activity 300 metres around the heritage sites. The heritage activists are worried as of the nine structure, some including Paleolithic caves in Shigao, 11th century old Narayandeo Temple in Vichundrem, among others are bang inside the mining zone where extensive iron ore extraction is going on. "How can the officials miss on such large number of monuments when they have a full fledged department working for the purpose," Saha questioned. The Archives and Archaeology department, however, has clarified that they have not deleted or denotified anything. PTI http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite.nsf/0/6BBE6933B395B8F2652574C200222 B1E?OpenDocument ~(^^)~ Avelino