Why in news?

Archaeological Survey of India (Bangalore Circle) is preparing  the “monument health card” for all 129 protected monuments across 17 districts in Karnataka to create a complete database of all monuments in its jurisdiction, for the first time

Highlights

• Parent Organization : Archaeological Survey of India
• The ASI has designed the programme to check the current condition of all monuments
• Regional offices are responsible to gather data and document specifications of every monument in detail.

What does Monument health card contains?

• It will contain a detailed description of the material used for construction, strength of the binding material, architectural style, and many other parameters
• Other major parameters documented : The status of the monument, a brief history, environment and surroundings along with drone shots and engineering aspects of the monument.

How can this be used ?

• The data collected provides a clear picture of the strength of the monuments to help officials prioritise restoration or conservation work.
• With complete details, restoration activites can decide works need to be taken up immediately and that can wait.
• It easily determines the nature of work required
• it will also help determine the year-on-year degradation of the monuments and a study of this could suggest preventive measures to be put in place.
• During restoration, if brief history and architectural details are known along with the way it was constructed that helps to protect the uniqueness of the monument
• Restoration projects can save the history of the era and documentation of monuments will help differentiate one monument from another, which in turn helps protect the integrity of the monument

Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)

• It is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country.
• Founder: Alexander Cunningham( First Director-General).
• Parent organisation: Ministry of Culture
• Director General : Vidyavathi
• Conservation Monuments : Everything from temples, mosques, churches, tombs, and cemeteries to palaces, forts, step-wells, and rock-cut caves. The Survey also maintains ancient mounds and other similar sites which represent the remains of ancient habitation
• Circles : Total of 34 circles ,each headed by a Superintending Archaeologist

• The ASI’s museums are customarily located right next to the sites that their inventories are associated with “so that they may be studied amid their natural surroundings and not lose focus by being transported”.