Appalled at the government’s decision to allot about 15 acres near the third century BC Thotlalonda Buddhist site in Visakhapatnam for construction of Film Nagar Cultural Centre, president of Japan-India Bodhi Society Shinsho Furukawa said by destroying an ancient historical site we shall never get it back and it is a bad move to do so.
“Historical and archaeological sites should be preserved for posterity. These sites speak about our culture and traditions that were practised thousands of years ago. By destroying them we are destroying vital evidences of our past living,” he said. According to him these sites not only educate the present generation but also will educate our future generations to come.
Dr. Hiroshi Morishita of the Society said Japan was a small island nation and Buddhism made its way around 538 AD, but we still preserve all the sites, despite of space crunch.
“Irrespective of religion or culture, historical sites should be preserved. Tampering with them will erase vital evidences,” said Hiroshi. According to conservation activists, the proposed Film Nagar Cultural Centre partly falls under archaeologically sensitive area and the allotment should be cancelled. Professor Satyapal from the Department of Anthropology said the authorities concerned are not very clear about the demarcation and they are maintaining a silence on whether the proposed project falls within the 400 metres of the buffer zone as declared by the government.
Both Furukawa and Hiroshi were here on Tuesday to deliver a lecture on ‘Morality as human virtue: Experience from Japan’ organised by Andhra University Department of Anthropology.
