<p>A 4.5-feet statue of Channakeshavaswami, dated back to the 12th century, was discovered while extracting sand at Hemavathy river, at Hale Beluru village in Karnataka's Sakleshpur taluk on Tuesday. The incident came to light on Wednesday.</p>.<p>The sculpture resembles the statue of the Belur Channakeshavaswamy temple. Except for slight scratches, while lifting by the excavator machine, there is no damage to the statue. It is said that the people who found the sculpture, left it covered under the sand out of fear and then informed the authorities.</p>.<p>There is a Channakeshava temple in the village dated back to the Hoysala period. Renovation works are in progress at the temple, which is in a dilapidated condition. The discovered sculpture has been kept in the temple. The villagers cleaned the sculpture and performed puja.</p>.<p>Tahsildar H B Jayakumar and Police personnel visited the spot. "The beautiful statue resembles that of the Hoysala period. This has been brought to the notice of the Deputy Commissioner. The future course of action would be taken as per his suggestions", Jayakumar said.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, the villagers urged the authorities to hand over the statue to the temple after research by the Department of Archaeology and Museums.</p>
<p>A 4.5-feet statue of Channakeshavaswami, dated back to the 12th century, was discovered while extracting sand at Hemavathy river, at Hale Beluru village in Karnataka's Sakleshpur taluk on Tuesday. The incident came to light on Wednesday.</p>.<p>The sculpture resembles the statue of the Belur Channakeshavaswamy temple. Except for slight scratches, while lifting by the excavator machine, there is no damage to the statue. It is said that the people who found the sculpture, left it covered under the sand out of fear and then informed the authorities.</p>.<p>There is a Channakeshava temple in the village dated back to the Hoysala period. Renovation works are in progress at the temple, which is in a dilapidated condition. The discovered sculpture has been kept in the temple. The villagers cleaned the sculpture and performed puja.</p>.<p>Tahsildar H B Jayakumar and Police personnel visited the spot. "The beautiful statue resembles that of the Hoysala period. This has been brought to the notice of the Deputy Commissioner. The future course of action would be taken as per his suggestions", Jayakumar said.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, the villagers urged the authorities to hand over the statue to the temple after research by the Department of Archaeology and Museums.</p>
