Temple alert

Bhopal, April 8: Khajuraho is under threat of losing its air link because commercial airline pilots are flying too close to its famous love temples, in violation of standard operating procedures, on the request of passengers looking for a good view.

A team from the civil aviation ministry and the Airports Authority of India has held talks with senior district and zonal officials in Khajuraho town to enforce a ban on planes flying low over the medieval-era temples famous for their erotic sculpture.

The officials told the commissioner, Sagar division, and district collectors of Chattarpur and Panna that if the violations continue unabated, the airport would have to be closed.

The temples are located in Chattarpur district while the airport, which has flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Agra, Varanasi and Kathmandu, is 30 km away in Panna.

The nearest railheads are Mahoba (64 km), Harpalpur (94 km), Jhansi (175 km) and Satna (117 km) but the roads leading to Khajuraho are so bad that most affluent tourists prefer to fly.

The meeting came after the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) launched a strong protest, saying the frequent flying violations were damaging the world heritage shrines.

K.K. Mohammed, the superintending archaeologist, quoted a report submitted by the Delhi-based National Physical Laboratory to substantiate the charge that sculptures of the Chandela-era have developed cracks as a result of vibration.

The ASI is also in possession of a communication from the director-general of civil aviation admitting that planes were flying close to the monuments.

Mohammed told The Telegraph that the ASI had found that vibration was damaging the western group of temples, particularly the Nandi and Vishwanath shrines, and sought the services of the Delhi laboratory, which confirmed its fears.

The civil aviation department was then approached. The additional secretary in the culture ministry and the ASI director-general wrote to the director general of civil aviation, seeking his intervention.

ASI officials said its intervention was in line with global concern for world heritage monuments.

In Mexico, the Seasalt Works Project — the world’s largest — was stopped in March 2000 because it was affecting the wildlife refuge of El Vizcaino, a world heritage site.

Closer home, the Karnataka government had to stop construction projects near Hampi, home to the ruins of the Vijayanagara empire.