the goan I network
PANAJI
According to historian Sanjeev Sardesai there are over a thousand sites in the state that are historically important, but only about 50 were officially recognized.
“There are over a thousand sites but the ASI has recognized only 51. The state government also highlights only a select few places to be of importance
from the heritage point of view. The same places get the attention every year,”
he said.
Some of the lesser-known, yet significant, sites include inscriptions found on Ubo Guno (upright stone) in Poriem, Petroglyphs of Mauxi, idols in a temple at Zarme, Valpoi, Surla cave,
Surla mosque, Mahalsa temple in Verna and the Mahadev temple in Verna industrial estate.
Margao-based archaeoastronomy enthusiast Sarvesh S Borkar believes the interest is certainly there but efforts need to be made into taking care of the places.
As an enthusiast Borkar found several hidden gems like the rock art in the Cabo De Rama cave with inscriptions that were found to be eight thousand years old.
After his discovery, Borkar had written to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the state
archaeology department, but no one from either department came to inspect the area. “The government is doing its best with what it has, but it’s the people from the locality who also need to
pay attention to historically special and important structures and artifacts,” said Borkar. He said that a public-private partnership should be employed in such a situation.
As far as the government is concerned, Sardesai
believes a method of highlighting at least five new places every year will help bring to the fore a new
place that is of historical
importance. He also suggests regular meetings
with historians and other
people involved in maintaining heritage to protect
and identify new heritage-rich areas.
