Ballari: Despite UNESCO’s concern over seasonal flooding of the world heritage site at Hampi due to release of water from the Tungabhadra dam, the state government has done little to prevent it this monsoon.
The Hampi World Heritage Area Management Authority (HWHAMA) reported the seasonal flooding last February to UNESCO in its State of Conservation report, which analyses the progress made by local authorities in preserving important historic sites. UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee responded saying it posed a threat to the world heritage site.
The report pointed out that the Purandara Mantapa, Rama and Lakshmana temples, Kudre Gombe Mantapa, Varaha Temple and Vijaya Vittala have been inundated several times due to release of water from the dam in Hosapete during the monsoon. While flooding has been a regular feature here for the past 500 years and monuments close to the river are built to withstand inundation, the authority noted that the monuments were no longer strong enough to withstand flash floods and several had collapsed over the last few rainy seasons. “The conservation of riverside monuments is not being done in a systematic way due to lack of coordination among the Archaeological Survey of India, HWHAMA, the district administration and the Tungabhadra Dam Board,” lamented local historians. While HWHAMA also warned that water-logged fields of paddy and sugarcane could weaken the foundations of the monuments at the site, farmers in the area point out that farming has been a part and parcel of the cultural ethos of the area for years.
