Twitter
Advertisement

Maharashtra Budget 2018 | Rs 24 cr to protect 400 historical structures for research, tourism

Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar announced a Rs 24 crore outlay to protect around 400 sculptures for research and tourism.

Latest News
article-main
The rock engravings
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

In a boost to heritage conservation and archaeology-based tourism, the state government has launched a project to protect the over-10,000-year-old late stone age era rock engravings in Ratnagiri.

In the state's budget presented on Friday, Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar announced a Rs 24 crore outlay to protect around 400 sculptures for research and tourism.

State government officials said unlike many rock-cut reliefs carved into walls, these forms of pre-historic communication and art are engraved on the ground in around 40 villages in the three talukas of Ratnagiri, Lanja and Rajapur.

Carved in laterite rocks, research on the carvings estimated to date back to the Mesolithic period, will shed light on the pre-historic cultures and history of the Konkan and Maharashtra.

"There are many historic stone age archaeological findings in various Konkan locations, which will throw new light on the region's history. Approximately 400 sculptures have been found in Ratnagiri district till date. It is necessary to protect them for both research and tourism development. If these destinations are protected, it will be possible to promote tourism in interior regions along with the beaches," said Mungantiwar.

"Most carvings are on private land. We plan to acquire the land, erect fences and observation towers for tourists, and develop the area as an archaeology-tourism project," said an official from the cultural affairs department.

These rock engravings revealed that human habitation in the Konkan region went back to at least 10,000 BC based on the tools found there.

These carvings may be contemporaries of the cave paintings at Bhimbetka (Madhya Pradesh) which date back to the late Stone age. Such petroglyphs have been found in Kerala and at Fansaimal in Goa and Kudopi and Malvan in Sindhudurg.

Mungantiwar also announced 3D mapping of protected forts and said this would help determine their boundaries as per government records, area under government control and that in private hands. The mapping will also record historical remnants in forts.

Officials said around five forts including Rajgad in Pune, Galna in North Maharashtra and Ambagad or Manikgad in Nagpur division were likely to be selected for the 3D mapping to be conducted by the MRSAC. This "condition mapping" was first conducted at the Sinhagad fort in Pune.

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement