ASI SET TO CRACK DOWN ON GRAFFITI WRITERS | AGRA NEWS

17\06\2010 AGRA NEWS |
With increase in incidents of graffiti writing on monuments, the Archaeological Survey of india (ASI) is now going to initiate steps to crack down on graffiti writers .
In tanden with the state Government, which will be directing the administration to work with ASI officials at monument sites, the ASI is now ensuring that these offenders are taken to task.
Talking to Hindustan Times on sunday ,ASI superintending archaeologist, Agra circle ,Dr Atiq siddiqui said , "Yes attempts are being made to take such offenders to task who deface walls and stones of his torical monuments . Although rules have been in place to take action in such cases, we are now going to implement them more stringently."
In the past,the ASI has tried to take the offenders to task but with little success.
Not only at protected monuments like Ermadullah, Sikandra , Fatehpur Sikri ,but even at the taj mahal ,monuments have not been able to escape vilification by these habitual offenders .
With graffiti ranging from lovers engraving their names on walls to anything else that comes to mind , there has been no dearth of defacing that has taken place at the monuments. Although the chemical depatment of the ASI has tried to rub off the blemishes ,the process of cleaning includes rubbing into the stone. This can harm the stone irreparably.
The punishment that would be meted out when reprobates are caught would depand on the level of the offense .
The offender would either be fined RS.3,000 or put behind bars for a month.
Siddiqui said although the Archaeological Monument and Archaeological Site Remains Act ( AM & ASR ) 1958 was already in place ,it was revised and amendments made in march 2010.
In the Act , the emphasis was mainly on three points.
It was stressed that encroachments within a 300 metre range of the monument had to be removed , all illegal constructions needed to be removed and that there would be no defacing of the walls of the protected monuments.
Siddiqui added that people needed to be sensitised towards their legacy and monuments and awareness about the same should be spread.
He said the ASI had been holding such awareness programmes at regular intervals to sensitise school children.