Losing in Renovation - Buddhist Heritage Conservation in Modern India

[Nagarjuna]

Ashoka Era Stupa lost in renovation - Sanjay Sharma, TNN | Apr 16,
2011, 05.26am IST

CHANETI (YAMUNANAGAR): A 2300-year-old stupa of Ashoka period here
appears to have turned into a modern building during efforts of
archeologists to restore the site after it was excavated in 2005. A
visit to the site presents a picture as if a new stupa has been built
in this district of Haryana.
In fact, even during restoration, objections were raised by an
activist from Buddhist Forum, Sidhartha Gauri, who has been fighting
for saving Haryana's Buddhist heritage but to no avail. In a letter to
the director general of Archeological Survey of India, Gauri, who has
produced a documentary on the condition of Buddhist heritage in
Haryana, pointed out faults in the renovation.
The letter says there are three kinds of bricks which nowhere match
size and shape of the original ancient bricks of the stupa.
"The stupa has been completely covered with new bricks, leaving no
traces behind of its original bricks and construction material," the
letter says. Gauri has alleged the binding material used for the
bricks is cement and sand, which are prohibited in the renovation of
ancient monuments.
There were four cardinal points and niches to place idols but now they
appear as stairs.
There were traces of approximately 52 pits around the parikrama path
but they have been covered under the path.
They were two feet deep and wooden pillars used to be placed in them
to create a boundary around the stupa.