Tezpur, Nov. 8: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has decided to “reinstall” the damaged monument in Da-Parbatia, taking into cognisance the religious sentiments of the people. The ASI has also decided to abstain from further conservation work at the site.

ASI assistant conservator Dilip Roy said in accordance with a directive from the superintendent of the ASI’s Guwahati circle, the lintel of the stone-hewn gate at Da-Parbatia, which was dismounted to change the position of stone pillars, has been replaced at its original site.

Villagers said initial tension over the Da-Parbatia gate had completely subsided. The ASI had drawn a scheme to change the position of gate pillars on the basis of historical implications as suggested by noted historians like H.K. Borujari, Rakhal Das Banerjee and P.C. Choudhury.

The ASI authorities tried to change the position of the stone pillars to give it a “new look” for the tourists on October 11. This irked villagers who assaulted ASI officials and confined them till they were rescued by the police in the presence of an executive magistrate.

The decision to change the position of the Da-Parbatia pillars, dating back to the Gupta period, was taken on the basis of facts published by historian H.K. Borpujari after a visit by K.N. Dikshit, director general of the ASI, when he attended a historical congress at Tezpur University.

The local people had convened a public meeting on October 26 where Bimal Sinha, an archaeologist of the ASI, tried to explain that the stone pillars were installed in a wrong position after the 1897 earthquake.

The public was, however, not convinced with the historical facts and demanded that the damaged Da-Parbatia gate be reinstalled in its original location.

The decision of the meeting was also communicated to the Sonitpur district administration. Sources said the ASI officials, after damaging a portion of the gate, stuck to their decision and refused to heed the public demand or face any inquiry by the Sonitpur district administration.