2300 YO Buddhist Site Faces Mining Threat

A 2300-year-old Buddhist site in Andhra Pradesh is under threat. The site, Kodavali, located in Gollaprolu Mandal, East Godavari district, in all likelihood will disappear once the laterite mining commences on the hill.

Worried locals allege that the local MRO has given NOC to the Mines and Geology department without taking the proximity of the archaeological site of immense importance into consideration.

Tuning a blind eye to the fact that the land has also been under cultivation for decades and the source of livelihood for many families, the revenue department has given clearance for mining operations.

Now, the local farmers have launched an agitation against the MRO’s action.  They have submitted a memorandum to the district collector against the NOC which was issued without their knowledge and any eviction notice to them. Instead of giving pattas to the poor farmers, MRO’s action is robbing them of their livelihood, they alleged.

Even the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) also opposed the proposed mining near the Buddhist site.

MVVSN Murthy, Conservation Assistant, ASI, Kakinada Circle, urged the MRO to stop the mining operations near the centrally protected monument. Writing a letter to the MRO, he said the proposed mining area is very nearer (357 M) to the centrally protected monument, the Buddhist remains at Kodavali.

To buttress this he also showed the Google images of the site. “ The Buddhist remains at Kodavali, East Godavari Dist, Andhra Pradesh is a centrally protected monument under Kakinada Sub Circle, Amaravati Circle, Vijayawada. This monument comes under the party of Survey No. 133/1 of Kodavali village, Gollaprolu Mandal, classified in village accounts as “Turakula Konda” measuring to an extent of Acs 182.74  Cts. It is brought to the notice of this office that, recently Village Secretariat, Kodavali has passed a resolution and issued a NOC for  mining operations in Sy No  133/1” Turakula Konda.” Murthy said in his letter.

 The  MRO, however, calls the farmers ‘illegal occupants’ stating that there was no trace of cultivation on the hill slope which falls in 20 degrees radius making them ineligible for pattas.

Kodavali Buddhist site comes from the golden era of Buddhism in coastal Andhra Pradesh.

The three centuries preceding and after CE witnessed a phenomenal rise and growth of Buddhist institutions in Andhra. Starting from Salihundam on Vamsadhara in Srikakulam District, right up to Ramathirtham in Nellore District on Penna, many Buddhist sites sprang up. Kodavali is one of the 50 sites so far discovered in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh.

 Historian Robert Sewell and archaeologist Alexander Rea are credited with discovering the site at Kodavali in the 1880s where the first Buddhist rock edict in Brahmi script was also found.

The script was deciphered by experts like Dr. Sten Konow and  Epigraphist H Krishna Sastri.  The inscription has a reference to a local King called Chandasati, who offered gifts to the monastery and constructed wells for the monks. The inscription was datable to the 2^nd Century CE. Some claim the site came into existence between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC.

The site which was located on the hilltop consists of a Mahastupa( 12 M diameter) and Pradakshinapath around it. As many as nine votive stupas were built surrounding the Mahastupa. Remains of huge vihara were also found by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Similarly, traces of monastic cells numbering about 13 were also found in an area of  40 M. ASI also recorded the fragments of stone caskets, Chhatri, redware bowls, vases, and carinated handi. A flight of steps was also laid to reach the hilltop.

Pilli Rambabu, a local Buddhist scholar said allowing mining operations in the vicinity of the Buddhist site will ruin the site. “Blasts, excavations, and transport operations will have a negative impact on the site. Kodavatli now stands testimony to the once flourished  Buddhism in the region. It has a great historical value and needs to be preserved,” he said urging the government to revoke the NOC given for the mining operations.

PS Ajay Kumar, a local activist, who has been fighting for the land rights of the poor suspected that the NOC was given by MRO under duress. “When the Mines and Geology Department first asked for a feasibility report for mining, the MRO clearly said the land was under cultivation and mining could not be allowed. But, within a few days, the MRO took a different stand and issued NOC going against her own earlier stand,” Ajay said.

 Stating that the affidavit filed by the MRO in the court on November 9, 2021, had totally ignored the existence of a valuable Buddhist site, Ajay said the content of the report the MRO submitted to the Collector on November 15, 2021, on the nature of the land was also full of half-truths and blatant lies. The affidavit and the report to the collector clearly demonstrate the official’s scant regard for the precious historical sites and livelihood of the poor, he said.

Meanwhile, the Kodavali Buddhist Stupa Pariraskshana Committee is meeting at the site to oppose the proposed mining operations.

from Myanmar also expected to participate in the rally of Buddhists at the site. They believe that the site was one of the  84,000 stupas erected by Emperor Ashok during his Lifetime. The organizers said they would oppose the mining operations and launch agitation till the permissions according to the mining companies revoked.

(This article first appeared in Newsmeter.in)