SC-appointed panel inspects Hospet temple
A team of senior officials from the Indian Bureau of Mines and the Mines, Geology and Environment Departments on Monday inspected the historic Jambunathaswamy temple in Hospet allegedly damaged due to extensive mining.
The two-day visit came in the wake of a direction from the Supreme Court. The 10-member team led by State Archaeology Department Dr R Gopal comprised Gangadhar and Siddanagowda of the Archaeology Department, Narasimhan of the Central Archaeology Department, Deputy Director of Mines Department Dr B N Shankar and Mines Safety Department Director V Lakshminarayan.
The committee interacted with the residents, priests and the temple administration, separately. The panel members also inspected the mining operations of the nine companies in the two-km radius of the temple.
The committee, in the next three months, will carry out inspection in three phases and submit a detailed report to the Supreme Court on the damage caused by the mining operations, Gopal said.
