Hampi monuments need urgent repairs: Report

Hubballi: Almost every ASI-protected monument at the World Heritage Site of Hampi is vulnerable and in need of some urgent repair to ensure longevity, according to a report.

The first-of-its-kind study highlights the restoration works to be taken up on a priority basis for the next 10 years to conserve the monuments that attract hordes of tourists.

Prepared by the Hampi Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Circle and Goa-based Samvardhan Heritage Solutions, the report photographically documented every monument and its structural condition, the impact of weather and earlier restoration works.

In Hampi, the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire, monuments are scattered across 4,187 hectares in the Tungabhadra basin.

There are 1,600 remaining monuments, including forts, temples, shrines, and water structures. Of them, 57 are protected by the ASI and are receiving the highest priority in terms of protection.

Nine of the 57 monuments are placed in the ‘major concern’ category, followed by 11 monuments in the ‘moderate’ category and others in the ‘minor’ category.

The Vijaya Vittala temple complex, Veerupaksha temple complex, Krishna temple complex, Ugra Narasimha, Hemakuta hills, Achyutaraya temple and Lotus Mahal temple complex fall in the ‘major concern’ category.

This category indicates that part or the whole of the monument has excessive structural instability and requires immediate attention or repairs.

Monuments that come under ‘moderate concern’ include those structures that show excessive weathering or some indicators of structural decay, which require monitoring to assess the speed of decay.

The third category, ‘minor concern’, concerns monuments that cause visual disturbance and, in the long term, can develop structural damage and require periodic attention.

“Over two months, experts, along with ASI officials, have studied every monument’s physical conditions, material susceptibility, environmental factors, and alterations of any kind made to the structures,” said

Nikhil Das, superintending archaeologist, ASI Hampi Circle.

Das said that most monuments in Hampi need a certain degree of care and protection, and that the study will help ASI in prioritising conservation work.

The study lists mining, quarrying activities, tourism, along with natural reasons such as heavy rains, overgrowth of vegetation, as major concerns in the conservation of monuments.

“Thankfully, at present, the monuments at Hampi are in a presentable stage. However, we need to put in certain efforts to preserve the monuments,” said Varad Sabnis of Samvardhan Heritage Solutions.

“It is not possible to repair or conserve all the monuments at once due to financial constraints. This report helps ASI to prioritise the work to be taken,” he added.

DH in June 2024 had carried a report on how officials at Hampi ASI circle are finding difficult to take up restoration and conservation works due to shortage of funds.