At a time when the Nalanda ruins are being decked up so that it is given a World Heritage Site tag, several other tourist hotspots in and around Patna are in a bad shape because of lack of maintenance.

The work on restoration of Golghar is suspended for the past five months putting it at risk of damage because of seepage in the walls during the ongoing monsoon. The restoration work was to be completed by the end of the 2013-14 fiscal. While the restoration of the inner walls was completed by 2013, that on the outer wall is still in the initial stages.

Red tape, sources said, is tying up the work.

The ancient Kumhrar Park, too, is under poor upkeep. Waterlogging is frequent here because of lack of proper drainage and its walls are damaged at several places. The "disgrace" to this protected site is not new.

In 2004, the Archaeological Survey of India got the 80-pillar hall site filled with sand and soil claiming perennial waterlogging. Since then, the entire hall is completely buried and no efforts are being taken by the ASI to re-excavate it.

Maner Sharif, on the western fringes of the city, has also fallen prey to ill maintenance as its walls are defaced at many places by visitors, who leave remarks and profess their love by writing on it.

It is the place where Makhdum Daulat died in 1608. It is in the memory of Daulat that Ibrahim Khan, the Mughal governor of Bihar under Jehangir, and a disciple of Daulat completed the construction of his mausoleum in 1616, now known as Maner Sharif.

Rizwan Castle on Fraser Road near Dakbungalow crossing is not even a protected monument and it is being used for accommodation of a small contingent of Bihar Police.

Built in the early Twentieth century, the edifice was designed on the lines of Scottish Tudor castles with bastions at the corners, battlements on the top and cross-shaped designs on the tracery. It was the residence of Hassan Imam (1871-1933), a leading lawyer of Patna. The structure has several claimants, who are fighting a legal battle at present for its ownership.

At present, there are 70 places in Bihar, which figure in the list of protected sites of the ASI. Similarly, there are 36 places in the list of protected sites by the state archaeology directorate, which works under art, culture and youth affairs department.

However, maintenance and security issues remain cause of concern even at the protected sites.

"Many of the protected sites don't even have security guards and there is lack of proper information dissemination through signages. In the absence of authorised guides, unauthorised people exploit the visitors. All such issues are basically because of dearth of manpower with the ASI as well as the state archeological directorate," said Deepak Anand, a heritage consultant based in Nalanda.

#Authorities, on the other hand, claimed that steps are being taken to streamline the various issues, which are plaguing the archaeological sites.

"It is true that we are faced with a dearth of manpower but steps are gradually being taken to resolve such issues. The state government has outsourced the security work to private agencies. The landscaping work at a number of protected sites has been handed over to environment and forests department. Funds under 14th Financial Commission are being used for conservation works at the state protected sites," said Atul Kumar Verma, the director at the state archaeological directorate.