Rakhigarhi development brings smiles as well as worries

Rakhigarhi, a sleepy village of Haryana, suddenly teems with life.

As the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech announced development of Rakhigarhi—a site of Harappan civilization, construction works have started on a war-footing.

Among proposed is an on-site museum for the excavations.

“During excavation we have found copper and gold beads, terracotta utensils, ceramic machines,” Yogesh Yadav from Department of Archaeology, Deccan College said.

With total 11 mounds spread over 350 hectares of land, only 83 hectares of area is currently notified under Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). “Rest of the site has been encroached by villages,” an ASI official said.

“To preserve the rest of the excavation site, a plan to relocate about 160 villagers to another area is underway,” Dr Priyanka Soni, Deputy Commissioner of Hisar informed.

For relocation, a new residential area is being developed.

But villagers are worried. For many, relocation means loss of land, survival and livelihood.

A gobar-gas plant will also be setup to manage animal waste, Dr Soni informed.

Speaking about the under-construction, on-site museum with Mohenjo-daro inspired entrance, an official said, “We are attempting to make it into an international museum. However, the problem with structures like a museum lies in the maintenance of its artefacts and what usually happens is that an institution no matter how big dies due to lack of maintenance funds. We will try our best to avoid this problem here.”

The plan to develop the site is expected to be completed in five to six years.

If all goes well, Rakhigarhi, situated 150 km to the northwest of Delhi, can turn into a tourist spot as it falls in between Delhi-Jaipur-Agra transit.

“We believe that places like Jahaj Kothi, Eklakhi Masjid and Gujari Mahal in Hisar will attract many tourists and help connect Haryana to the golden triangle of tourism,” DC Soni told mediapersons.

Hastinapur in Uttar Pradesh, Sivsagar in Assam, Dholavira in Gujarat and Adichanallur in Tamil Nadu were other four historical places mentioned by the finance minister for conservation and development.

Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel indicated towards the finding of the Drishadvati River, a tributary of Saraswati, whose drying up in 2,000 BC is believed to have led to the sudden demise of Rakhigarhi civilisation.