The residents on Sunday welcomed the announcement to develop the Harappan site at Hisar’s Rakhigarhi village, as an iconic site and set up a national museum, in the Union Budget on Saturday.
Spread across 500 hectares, Rakhigarhi is the largest Harappan site in the Indian sub-continent.
‘Proud moment’
Welcoming the news, former Sarpanch, Rakhigarhi, Dinesh Sheoran, said it was a moment of pride for all of them.
“We are very happy to hear this announcement. It will put Rakhigarhi on the international map. I have been associated with this project for years and I feel proud. I also express my thanks to former Deccan College Vice-Chancellor Vasant Shinde, whose efforts have made this possible,” said Mr. Sheoran.
Meanwhile, Mr. Shinde said that the initiative would stop the destruction of the site and also help showcase or rich cultural heritage to the world.
Mr. Sheoran said that the villagers distributed sweets after the news came in. Jaiveer Fauji, another villager, said that developing the village as an iconic site would increase tourism and create jobs for the locals.
“It will also improve the connectivity of the region with the Capital,” he added.
Deputy Director, Department of Archaeology and Museums, Haryana, Banani Bhattacharyya described Rakhigarhi as a “prestigious project” for the government and added that the announcement would help the students, archaeologists and researchers. “It is a good news for all,” said Ms. Bhattacharyya.
Other sites
Besides Rakhigarhi, Hastinapur in Uttar Pradesh, Shivsagar in Assam, Dholavira in Gujarat and Adichanallur in Tamil Nadu will also be developed as iconic sites with national museums.
Rakhigarhi is one of the largest sites of the Harappan civilisation and the major objectives behind the excavation there were to trace its beginnings and to study its gradual evolution from 6000 BCE to 2500 BCE, besides protecting it from encroachment by the locals since the village is settled exactly on top of it.
