Pillar damaged at Shiva temple in Hampi

Hosapete (Vijayanagar district): A pillar at the historic underground Shiva Temple in Hampi, where the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has initiated restoration work, was found broken. Worse still, the pillar has since gone missing, prompting an activist to lodge a complaint at the Kamalapur police station.

In his complaint, T Shivakumar, chief of the Vijayanagara district unit of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike Janasene, has alleged that stones from the pillar were priced loose using a machine. "I brought this to the attention of the ASI officials on December 2, but no action was taken. Not only was that pillar broken, but it has since gone missing. So, ASI officials must also be called in for questioning,” reads Shivakumar’s complaint.