Hazaribagh, Sept. 11: Self-taught megalith explorer and researcher Subhashis Das has sounded an alarm on the neglected Pankri Barwadih site, 17km from Hazaribagh town, in the public eye for an NTPC coal mining project, whose large tracts are parking lots for trucks.

For Das, Pankri Barwadih is important for the two megaliths, which stand 7km from the NTPC captive coal mine.

Das, who represented India at the Eighth World Archaeological Congress, held in Kyoto, Japan, from August 28 to September 2, and returned to Hazaribagh today, said at the global meet that nothing was being done to preserve the megaliths at Pankri Barwadih.

Twenty-five archaeologists from various countries had come to Kyoto for the archaeological meet.

Speaking to this correspondent on his return, Das said: "In my 25-minute speech, I spoke on Pankri Barwadih in Hazaribagh and the largest megalithic site in Jharkhand, Chokahatu, in Ranchi district, some 80km south-east of the capital."

Ruing the Indian government's apathy towards Pankri Barwadih, he said: "I spoke about it in Spain in the 2014 edition of World Archaeological Congress and now again in Kyoto, Japan. In two years, there is no progress, only false promises of a megalith park."

About Chokahatu, he said: "It is the burial ground of the Mundas, where stone slabs align with hills, which the tribe consider to be their mother."

In the same breath, Das lamented how Indians were indifferent towards historical sites unlike people in other countries. "During my visits to Spain and Japan, I was amazed to see old buildings still in use. The venue of the Kyoto meet, Doshisha University, was set up in 1875, but is so well preserved," he said.

On the way forward, Das urged Indian youths to take up the onus to preserve the past. "The government can't do anything alone. We should appreciate our rich history," he said.