The monuments protected by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) continue to remain closed in districts where the local authorities have extended the lockdown till June 21 to curb the surge in the second wave of COVID-19.
Also, enquiries with different ASI circles in the State indicated that monuments are yet to reopen to the public even in case of districts where there is graded unlocking.
Though the ASI monuments across the country were officially ready for reopening on Wednesday, the authorities also stipulated that the local heads will decide on the reopening based on the prevailing COVID-19 guidelines in the respective districts. The decision to reopen the monuments will entirely depend on the Standard Operating Procedures and COVID-19 guidelines issued by the district administration, according to ASI officials.
In Karnataka all monuments in the 11 districts where the positivity rate is above 5 per cent and the lockdown has been extended beyond June 14 remained closed. They included monuments in Srirangapatna, Keshava temple at Somanathpur in Mysuru district, and monuments at Belur, Halebid and Shravanabelagola in Hassan district.
The districts where the lockdown has been extended and where the monuments remain closed to public are Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga, Davanagere, Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Hassan, Dakshina Kannada, Bengaluru Rural, Mandya, Belagavi, and Kodagu.
Officials in the ASI circle of Dharwad confirmed that none of the monuments in their jurisdiction were open to the public as on Wednesday. The group of monuments at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hampi is also yet to reopen and will remain closed till June 21 or any future date depending on the local situation, according to the authorities.
