Lakkundi temples set to be finalised for UNESCO tentative listing as World Heritage Sites: Report
Mysuru: The ancient group of monuments at Lakkundi and surrounding regions, dating from the 10th to 12th centuries CE and built during the Kalyana Chalukya (Western Chalukya) era, are being finalised for inclusion in UNESCO’s tentative list of World Heritage Sites.
The State, having expressed its commitment to advancing the proposal, has partnered with the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), which is currently refining the proposal, as reported by The Hindu.
Some of the key sites under consideration include the Kasi Visvesvara temple, Manikesvara temple, Nanneswara temple, Brahma Jinalaya, and Musukina Bavi in Lakkundi, along with notable structures like the Mahadeva temple at Itagi, Sri Mallikarjuna temple at Kuruvatti, and the the Someshwara temple at Lakshmeshwara in Gadag.
The monuments listed under “Architectural Ensembles of Kalyana Chalukyas” fulfil two of the six criteria that should be met for inclusion in the UNESCO tentative and final list.
One of the criteria, as cited by The Hindu, states that the monuments should exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, two planning, or design.
The other criterion that the monuments must meet is that they should represent an excellent example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble, or landscape that portrays a key stage or stages in human history; and the Kalyana Chalukya group of monuments meets both criteria.
The list may be revised after further consultations with experts and stakeholders. Once accepted, and on completion of one year under the tentative list, the State will be eligible to prepare a detailed nomination dossier for full World Heritage inscription.
The other heritage sites already under the tentative list include monuments and forts of the Deccan Sultanate, monuments of Srirangapatana island town, Hire Benkal megalithic site, and Badami and Aihole group of monuments.
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Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
