Don’t move 'chabutara', we’ll take care of it, say locals

The heritage department officials' visit to the chabutara seems to have woken locals from their slumber. After ignoring the monument for so many years, which led to the theft of five figurines recently, the residents are now ready to take responsibility to protect it. The sudden change may be attributed to the possibility of shifting the chabutara to a safer location.

On Thursday, top officials of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation's (AMC) heritage department visited the chabutara to observe the status of the monument. The visit came after the theft and subsequent recovery of five figurines of that 300-year-old heritage structure.

During the visit, the officials expressed dissatisfaction over the security of the chabutara, that led to the theft. They are also concerned about the involvement of locals, who did not cooperate with the officials and kept mum about possible suspects. The silence of the locals led the officials to believe that such an incident might happen again.

Citing this threat, one of the top officials suggested that the monument be shifted to a museum. "Just like we had shifted a statue from Victoria Garden and put it in the safer confines of Sanskar Kendra at Paldi, we will also propose to the commissioner to take similar action for the chabutara," said a senior AMC official, seeking anonymity. 

However, the residents living near the chabutara are now showing concern for the monument and are willing to guard it. "This is part of our religious heritage, as the chabutara is inside an old temple. So we don't want it to be shifted elsewhere," said Munna Tiwari, who claims to own the possession papers of all the ancient temples near the monument.

"We will ensure that nothing happens to it again, but please don't take it from here," said Bhavesh Solanki, another resident.