An excavated part of the Sari temple. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 21: The state government has given its nod to hand over possession of the Suka temple near the Sari shrine (Deula) to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

The ASI had written to the State Archaeology to bring the Suka temple under its wings after excavations revealed that a large portion of the twin-temple complex exists below the ground level. The Telegraph was the first to report on the buried portion of Sari Deula on July 14.

“We received a letter from the ASI and have replied that they were welcome to take custody of the Suka temple,” director of the culture department Sushil Kumar Das told The Telegraph.

In practice, while the monuments of national importance are protected by the ASI, State Archaeology protects those of regional importance. The ASI has 23 protected monuments under its care in Bhubaneswar.

While the conservation of the Sari temple is the ASI’s responsibility, its immediate neighbour, the Suka temple, is with the State Archaeology. Following the July excavation, the ASI experts discovered that a major portion of the entire complex — comprising the two 12th century temples and five smaller ones — is lying underground.

Superintending archaeologist of ASI, Bhubaneswar circle, Bhuvan Vikrama said: “Suka-Sari, which are the two main temples of the complex belong to the 12th century. The three smaller ones behind it may date back to the 7th century. Conservation of the entire complex with five temples will be a major landmark in conservation. As the complex is on the banks of Bindusagar, the conservation of the complex will also help boost tourism.”

Vikrama was speaking on the sidelines of celebration of “heritage week”, which started yesterday and will continue till November 25.

He said while State Archaeology has shown interest to hand over Suka temple to the ASI, the portion of Sari temple that falls within the complex of the nearby Sanskrit College continues to be a stumbling block in the conservation process.

The ASI has written to the higher education department for shifting Sanskrit College elsewhere. But nothing has happened so far.

The ASI today organised a workshop near Sari temple for creating awareness about temple conservation among the public. Former superintending archaeologist of Odisha State Archaeology B.K. Rath said: “Awareness among people on monuments is very poor despite the state having so many excellent monuments.”

Well-known anthropologist K.K. Basa said: “Love for its own history and past should come naturally to a state. But as a race, we have an apathy towards our own past. Conservation of historic monuments is getting less attention from the public.”

Old Town resident Lingaraj Sahu said: “The state government should take urgent steps to retain the look of the twin temple complex.”