Times of India: Visakhapatnam: Thursday,
November 17, 2016.
Around 50
heritage lovers including members of Intach (Indian National Trust for Art and
Cultural Heritage) as well as members of the Indo-Japan Society gathered at
Thotlakonda Buddhist Archaeological site on Wednesday to devise a strategy to
oppose the indiscriminate digging on the hill for the proposed Vizag Filmnagar Cultural
Centre (FNCC) or Film Club, despite the site housing an archaeologically
protected monument.
As per
documents from the revenue department, the president of FNCC from Hyderabad had
requested for allotment of lands in Kapuluppada, Bheemunipatnam to construct a
FNCC at Visakhapatnam. Recently, after inspection of the lands, the Vizag
district administration has found it suitable to set up FNCC on 15-acre land at
Thotlakonda. The documents mention that the market value of the said land is Rs
2 crore per acre. The Vizag district collector had submitted necessary lease
proposals (land to be allotted on lease basis for 33 years on payment of lease
rent at Rs 1.50 lakh per annum for the entire land). In this regard, advance
possession of the land was already given to FNCC through GO NO 411.
Thotlakonda
and Bavikonda form an important part in the Buddhist heritage of the district
and AP. Recognising the archaeological and historical significance of these
sites, the Government of Andhra Pradesh issued Government Order No 627 in 1978,
where the Thotlakonda site, located in survey no 314, was declared as a
protected site under the Andhra Pradesh Ancient and Historical Monument Sites
and Remains Act.
Regarding the
site of the film club on the Archaeological Heritage Site - Thotlakonda Hill,
Intach life member Shabnam Patel said, "It's shocking to observe that the
local urban bodies and the district administration are turning a blind eye to
the desecration of its valuable archaeological sites that are treasure houses
of the Buddhist past and a violation of the existing land regulations. The
entire hill should be protected as per GO 627. But construction of the film
club on this hill clearly violates this GO. The hill is also classified as
Poramboke land, which means that it's government land reserved for public
purposes and for the use of the community at large. How Poramboke lands were
sub-divided and carved out even after the existence of GO 627, without any
public review process, remains unclear. Under the circumstances, any permission
for the film club on the Thotlakonda hill should be withdrawn forthwith. Intach
as a body that holds the archaeological heritage of Visakhapatnam in trust also
opposes strongly, the construction of the film club in its present location in
Thotlakonda."
Moreover,
unlike a museum or Buddhist research institute, the film club constructed on
Poramboke land, wouldn't cater to the public. "It's going to be a private
club, with astronomical high annual membership fees running into several lakhs
of rupees, which only the richest and elitist can afford. We have already filed
queries under Right to Information Act (RTI) regarding this issue and we will
ensure that the public protest against destruction of this ancient heritage
site gathers momentum," pointed out Jayshree Hatangadi, another Intach
life member.
"There's
a large, unused area on the hill that houses the film city. Instead of
Thotlakonda, a film club or the FNCC can be located at the place, which houses
the film city. So both the film club and film city can be placed at one site to
promote the cause of Andhra film industry, instead of disturbing and destroying
the sanctity of the Buddhist heritage site," added Hatangadi.
Intach
members and other heritage lovers in their gathering at Thotlakonda, urged the
district collector, vice-chairman of Vuda and other political representatives
to put a halt to the construction of the proposed film club or any other
building on the hill. "It's important we re-assess the situation and urgently
establish the ground rules through a public review process to help us in
effectively protecting historically and archaeological heritage of the district
and the state. Our Buddhist heritage has a great tourism potential. It would be
extremely short-sighted of us to destroy this potential in a bid to create
modern and commercial structures that wipe out our heritage," added Patel.
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