Land sharks set eyes on historical Sisupalgarh in Bhubaneswar, complaint lodged 

The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) authorities have lodged a complaint against unidentified miscreants at Dhauli police station in Bhubaneswar accusing them of causing damage to a portion of the boundary wall of ancient Sisupalgarh.  

The land sharks have always set their eyes on the ancient fortified city of Sisupalgarh. In the latest incident, a portion of the boundary wall was found to have been cut. Taking note of the incident, the ASI took the matter up with the Tehsildar and the District Collector. 

Notably, Sisupalgarh is a restricted zone where digging even a one-foot-deep hole is considered illegal. At this heritage site, a six-foot-deep excavation was done allegedly for constructing a drain. 

“The land sharks cut the 2300-year-old wall of Sisupalgarh. It is seen as a major jolt to our culture and heritage. In this regard, we have already lodged a police complaint, demanding severe punishment against whoever is involved in it. If such rampant ingression continues, the day is not far off when there will be no sign of this heritage,” said Dibishada Garnayak, Superintending Archaeologist, ASI. 

When contacted, Bhubaneswar Revenue Inspector (RI) Niranjan Nayak, said, “We have been creating awareness among the people to protect the garh (Sisupalgarh). Such illegal activities are generally carried out at night. So there is little scope for us to know who the culprits are. We have been asking people to oppose those who are carrying out such activities.”

(Reported by Alok Mohanty, OTV)