In an effort to preserve the state’s cultural legacy, the director of archaeology on Tuesday requested that the Sivasagar district commissioner “stop construction and vandalism” at Ligiripukhuri, an Ahom-era pond in Nazira town.
According to locals, the Ligiripukhuri is thought to have been excavated during the 600-year Ahom dynasty that governed Assam from 1228 to 1826. The director added that although though the pond is not a protected site, state regulations allow for its protection because it contains medieval Assamese archeological remains.
After residents filed written complaints against illegal constructions with the district administration and police, Debabrata Saikia, the leader of the opposition in the state Assembly, brought the issue before the Archaeology Directorate last month. In a letter to the Sivasagar district commissioner, Archaeology Director Deepi Rekha Kouli asked that construction and vandalism at Ligiripukhuri be halted.
According to her, the directorate inspected the Ahom period’s Ligiripukhuri and discovered that the 1st Assam Police Battalion had drilled a pipeline through the ancient tank’s embankment to pump water for drinking. According to her, some residents have installed pipelines so they can use the water for domestic use.
Kouli stated that although the tank is not a protected site under the Directorate of Archaeology, the Ligiripukhuri can be protected under “The Assam Ancient Monuments and Records Rules, 1959” and “The Assam Ancient Monuments and Records Rules, 1964” because it is a historical site that contains archaeological heritage from medieval Assam.
For the sake of preserving Assamese cultural heritage, I therefore respectfully ask that you take the required actions to prevent damage to the embankment of the ancient tank known as “Ligiripukhuri,” the director continued.
