Protected site near Gaya is a neglected site

Located atop a hillock, Kurkihar Village, around 22 kilometres from Gaya in Bihar, has been attracting tourists who are interested to see the remains of an old Buddhist Monastery and many other historical monuments.

Kurkihar Village (Gaya), Nov.28 : Located atop a hillock, Kurkihar Village, around 22 kilometres from Gaya in Bihar, has been attracting tourists who are interested to see the remains of an old Buddhist Monastery and many other historical monuments.

Sadly, these historical monuments, dating back to Buddhist era, are today lying in a neglected state despite being declared a protected site of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

Local villagers are sad that the monuments are being neglected.

"Emperor Ashoka had been to this place. At that time, it was a popular art centre of the country. People from Nalanda used to come here to learn the art of idol making. It was known by the name of Kurkihar Kundalpur Vishwavidyalaya," said Satyanarayan Singh, a social worker and resident of Kurkihar Village.

"One can find all the idols made from Ashtaloha (amalgamation of 8 metals). We have brought this ignorance into notice of the Archaeological Survey of India, Ministry of Tourism and Prime Minister's office. But it yielded no results," Singh added.

Majority of the treasured idols are lying helter-skelter in the village's vicinity. The village doesn't have proper basic facilities required by the tourists arriving here.

"There has been no effort in the name of development or revival. Some days back, some Buddhist followers had arrived here, they had to face shortage of water, toilets. Besides being a property worth crores of rupees, the place has been lying just like that, and nobody is paying any attention to it," said Nikhil Kumar, a local villager.

In 1935, villagers had dug out over 300 idols from this place. The recovered items consisted of statutes of Buddha and Bodhisattvas in various shapes and sizes, bells, Stupas and a number of ritual objects.

These idols reflecting excellent craftsmanship were then sent to museums of Patna, Delhi and Bodhgaya. Villagers say that out of the recovered items, at least 18 were assessed to be worth nearly rupees ten million by the Government of India.

All the items that were unearthed exhibited a high degree of craftsmanship.

Although the site has been declared as 'Protected Site' by the ASI, there have been no efforts to ensure the security and safety of historical heritage.

Local administration refutes charges of ignorance and negligence of Kurkihar.

"Kurkihar village is ASI governed site. It's been protected by them. And as far as Bodhgaya world heritage site is concerned, it falls under management of Mahabodhi Temple Management Committee. No ignorant attitude is shown towards Kurkihar. It's completely protected," said Jitendra Srivastav, District Magistrate of Gaya.

The Indian Museum in Kolkata has on display some stone sculptures of Kurkihar. By Surya Pratap Singh

ANI