CHENNAI : The Tamil Nadu State Archaeology Department’s ambitious mission to launch excavations at Keezhadi in Sivagangai district, after much heat generated over the laxity on the part of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), has hit a roadblock since February this year due to local landlords’ reluctance to let their land be used for ferrying men and material to the excavation site. Now, the district administration claims that it has successfully sorted out the issues and allayed the fears of a section of landlords for ensuring a smooth passage for the excavators.
The State Archaeology department stepped into the scene last year after the ASI was caught in controversies over the foiled bid to ship the artefacts from the site to Karnataka for preservation and shunting of the excavation director Amarnath Ramakrishna to a far-off state, Assam. Tamil organisations and political parties trained their guns at the Centre, accusing it of deliberately peddling slow on unearthing more and more evidence to prove the existence of an urban civilisation in Tamil Nadu during the Sangam period.
In October last year, the Central Advisory Board for Archaeology (CABA) granted its nod for the Tamil Nadu State Archaeology department for carrying out excavations at Keezhadi where the ASI had discovered about 8,000 artefacts and antique objects that lend credence to the richness of the Tamil culture. The discovery of a ring well at the site is considered to be a promising evidence to prove the existence of an urban civilisation.
Yet, the department could not proceed as the local landlords threw a spanner in its works. After several rounds of infructuous negotiations, the district administration has recently made a breakthrough and entered into an agreement with a few landowners while others refused to oblige believably due to fear over future risks.“We have sorted out the issues and an agreement has been signed after talks with the local landowners on April 4,” G Latha, District Collector, Sivaganga, told Express on Tuesday.
Subsequently, an approach road is going to be laid to pave the way for the excavators to ferry materials to the site. The new approach road will be a little longer as the authorities’ efforts to convince a particular section of landlords turned futile, informed sources said.As the roadblock is cleared, the State Archaeology department is now free to get into the act. According to K Pandiarajan, Minister for Tamil Official Language and Culture, “We will complete the formalities in a week and launch excavations at Keezhadi.”
The State government has already sanctioned Rs 55 lakh for the expedition to be held at Keezhadi.Union Minister for Culture Mahesh Sharma had informed Parliament that tests of samples collected from Keezhadi revealed that they were 2,200 years old.