E-Paper
Search of water source leads villagers in Jammu’s Doda to stone sculptures
The search for a water source in a remote village of Doda district yielded the stone sculptures during a dig — in turn drawing a team of experts from the archives department for a visit
The search for a water source in a remote village of Doda district took an unexpected turn when villagers stumbled upon stone sculptures during a dig — in turn drawing a team of experts from the archives department for a visit scheduled for Thursday.
The area of the discovery has been sealed off by the district administration. The stone sculptures, carvings and two water storage systems with eight to ten drains made out of hard rock were found around 10 feet beneath the ground.
Speaking of the same, Doda district commissioner (DC) Vishesh Pal Mahajan said, “A few days ago some villagers of Siwli village, in search of a water source, had started excavating a place and they found the antiques. We have now secured the area and a team of two to three experts from the Archives department is reaching the site on Thursday.”
“The team will conduct an initial study of the findings and the area and accordingly decide further course of action. They would be able to find out exactly how old the antiques are, but they are definitely very old,” said the DC.
Zakir Malik Bhallesi, a prominent writer and researcher from Bhalessa, said the sculptures, which feature carvings on them, are likely to be thousands of years old and warranted the attention of the experts from Archaeological Survey of India and academicians.
“As of now, we can’t say who made them and how old they are. In fact, a zoological lecturer Krishan Kant of Bhalessa was the first person who informed me about the discovery and then I met Mandeep Kumar, who actually had found them,” Bhallesi said.
Mandeep Kumar, the person who first stumbled upon the sculptures, meanwhile, said, “My father Jaswant Singh had passed away recently and according to Hindu rituals, water has to be offered to the departed soul. So, in search of water, we started digging in the village.”
“Around eight to ten feet down, we found different types of stones and eight to ten drains made out of hard rocks. Two of them had clean waters running in them, which was a miracle for us. We also found stone sculpture and stone carvings,” he said of the findings.
When interactions with the village elders did not yield any clue about the source, the group reached out to the authorities.
“Now, we want them to be highlighted, investigated and preserved. In fact, we want experts to solve the mystery,” Mandeep said.
