Chandigarh: More than 80 monuments and sites are being preserved by the ASI in Haryana. But many of these continue to face negligence and are not in good condition which is a matter of serious concern.
What came to the surface is very shocking that two historical monuments in the state have gone missing. An RTI filed by a lawyer Amit Rathi, a resident of Panipat revealed that Los Minar in Shahabad, Kurukshetra and Los Minar Mujesar are missing due to the carelessness of ASI which has raised finger on its working. In reply to RTI, ASI stayed that the above-mentioned Minar monuments don’t exist in Haryana presently. There are two Los Minars namely Kos Minar Shahab and Kos Minars number 13 (Mujesar) Faridabad districts under the jurisdiction of Chandigarh circle that are missing. The details made available state that the Kos Minar of Shahabad was declared protected by the ASI on 1 December 1914 vide notification No. PN1083. In the year 2004-05, the land was acquired by the Haryana Urban Development Authority, HUDA (now HSVP).
Presently, several buildings stand erected at the site of the Los Minar and there is no way through which the exact place of the site can be ascertained. While the details about Kos Minars Mujesar shows that it was declared as a National monument by the ASI on 11 March 1919. The documents revealed that the land of the site was allotted to a private company M/S Porritts and Spencers (Asia) vide dated 22 September 1983. According to a letter from the Deputy Commissioner, Faridabad, the Kos Minar was demolished by the owner of the above-mentioned company. Following the same, a letter was issued by the Superintending archaeologist to the Superintendent of Police requesting to initiate legal action against the offenders. In response to this, other owners of the company said that the construction of the factory on this site was fully approved by the government and all formalities were fulfilled. Regarding the same, Dr Chand Singh, assistant professor in DAV College, Ambala, said that the government and ASI should prepare a foolproof plan to preserve the historical monument so that the forthcoming generation can be familiar with our rich culture, history and heritage.