Centre to revive ASI’s underwater wing for explorations in four states

KEY STORY

• The underwater wing of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is being revived for explorations in four states with a significant coastline, officials in the Ministry of Culture say.

• Over the next few months, several projects will be readied for excavations in Dwarka (Gujarat), several mythological sites in the Cauvery delta (Tamil Nadu), and sites along the coast in Maharashtra and Odisha, officials say. However, there is no plan for the Ram Setu site yet, they add.

• Even as the ASI had established its underwater wing in 2001, it has remained defunct for more than a decade, mostly owing to lack of experts at the helm, sources say. In fact, several underwater excavations had to be abandoned in the past, including an offshore exploration in Tamil Nadu’s Poompuhar between 1981 and early 2000s to unravel the 2000-year-old port of Kaveripattinam. Officials say further surveys could reveal more facts about the ancient port city, which reportedly had trade links with the Roman empire and China.

• In its 305th report on the Parliamentary Standing Committee on transport, tourism and culture, submitted to the Rajya Sabha on February 2, the 31-member committee headed by BJP MP TG Venkatesh recommended to the Ministry of Culture that “underwater archaeological exploration has to be revived in the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Odisha”.

• In its response, the ministry said the ASI was reviving its underwater wing and Alok Tripathi, an additional director general-level officer who had been posted recently, was an underwater archaeology expert.

• Established in 2001, the UAW has to its credit the exploration of Elephanta island, Mahabalipuram in the Bay of Bengal, a site in Pondicherry and the excavation of a shipwreck named ‘Princess Royal’ in Lakshadweep. Near-shore explorations were also carried out at ancient port sites such as Chilka, Kalingapatnam, Machilipatnam and Rameswaram coast, ASI officials say.