Belagavi: Kalyani Chalukya temples in Savadatti fight for survival due to poor maintenance
Belagavi: Temples built by the Kalyani Chalukyas in Hooli village of Savadatti taluk face threat of destruction, being in poor condition, covered by bushes and shrubs and also being encroached upon.
The structures were built in 11th and 12th centuries in Savadatti, which was once a seat of Shaivism. Considered a visual delight, the temples demand necessary measures of conservation to prevent destruction, Deccan Herald has reported.
While the buildings and other structures built during the rule of the dynasty carry huge potential for tourism, lack of publicity has prevented the outside world to learn about them.
The local residents have said that there are 101 temples and wells each in Hooli, but lack of maintenance by the concerned authorities has resulted in growth of weeds around the structures. They also stressed on encroachment proving dangerous for the temples and the wells.
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The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has taken charge of the Panchalingeshwara temple, but not Bhavanishankara, Andhakeshwara, Kalameshwara, Madaneshwara, Tarakeshwara, Kashi Vishwanatha, Beeradeva, Suryanarayana and Hooli Sangameshwara Ajjanavaru temples. The monuments are yet to be added to the list of the State Archaeological Department too.
ASI Museums Director Smita Reddy reportedly admitted that the temples situated in Hooli were ancient and required to be conserved. She added that efforts were on to include temples other than the Panchalingeshwara Temple to the list of the State Archaeological Departmentin order to get them declared as protected monuments.
Stating that the tahsildar as well as the Savadatti and Hooli gram panchayats had been contacted to clear the temple premises of encroachments, Reddy added that the Department feared damage to the temples in Hooli by treasure hunters influenced by the recent finding of gold at Lakkundi in Gadag. She stressed that it was a myth and also people’s imagination that ancient temples had such hidden treasure under the idols.
Panchayat Development Officer of Hooli GP, Mahadevappa Kalli, said they undertake cleaning of weeds and bushes around the temples biannually in order to protect the structures.
He also said that the Panchayat had received a letter from the ASI on January 1 related to measures to clean the temple premises and added that it was decided at the local general body meeting in late January to clear the overgrowth on the premises.
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SC directs medical exam board to explain decision to reduce qualifying cut-off for NEET-PG
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday directed the National Board of Examination in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) to explain its decision to drastically reduce the qualifying cut-off percentiles for NEET-PG 2025-26.
A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe directed NBEMS to file an affidavit and posted the matter for hearing after two weeks.
"On one hand, we have to see that seats should not get wasted. At the same time, there is pressure that candidates are not coming, so please reduce the cutoff.
"Then the argument will be that the standards are being lowered and the counter-argument is that seats are going waste. So, somewhere there has to be a balance," the bench observed while asking NBEMS to file an affidavit.
During the hearing, senior advocate Gopal Sankarnarayanan, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that marks cannot be relaxed in PG admissions, except for exceptional reasons.
He said standards need to be stricter at the postgraduate level.
The top court on February 4 had issued notices to the Union of India, the NBEMS, the National Medical Commission and others.
With over 18,000 postgraduate medical seats across the country remaining vacant, the Board revised the qualifying percentiles for NEET-PG 2025 admissions, reducing it to zero from 40 percentile for reserved categories -- which will make even those scoring as low as minus 40 out of 800 to take part in the third round of counselling for PG medical seats.
According to the notice published by NBEMS, the NEET PG cutoff for the general category has been reduced to seven percentile from 50.
The top court was hearing a plea filed by social worker Harisharan Devgan, Dr Saurav Kumar, Dr Lakshya Mittal and Dr Akash Soni submitting that the cut-off reduction violates Article 14 and Article 21.
The plea contended that the eligibility criteria cannot be altered after commencement of the selection process as aspirants prepared, competed and made career choices based on the originally notified cut-offs.
The petition said PG medical education cannot be treated as a commercial exercise and that regulatory authorities are required to prevent dilution of standards.
Several sections of the medical community have termed as "unprecedented and illogical" the NBEMS' decision to drastically reduce the cut-off percentile for candidates across all categories for NEET-PG 2025-26.
