Court directs men who vandalised pillars at Hampi to re-erect them

Hampi: A local court here directed the four men who vandalised the ancient pillars in Hampi to re-erect the pillars. 

Following the orders, the men were taken to the heritage site and made to re-erect the heavy pillars in the presence of Archaeological Survey of India officials. A fine of Rs. 70,000 each was also imposed to the men, a report said.

It may be recalled that the four men were arrested after a video of stone pillars at the UNESCO world heritage site being damaged by some men went viral on social media. The clip shows three men pushing the artistically carved stone pillar to the ground, following which it breaks. Other damaged pillars are also shown lying around

While three of the men arrested felled the pillar, the fourth man shot the video, the police said.

The video has led to concern over the safety of the protected sites in the country. Locals had staged a protest, demanding that adequate security is provided to the monuments.

Following the incident, water resources minister D K Shivakumar had said the state government would not tolerate any act of causing damage to historical sites and stern action would be taken against the culprits.

Locals had staged a protest, demanding that adequate security is provided to the monuments.

Recently, the erstwhile capital of Vijayanagar empire- Hampi- known for its rich architecture, was listed second on the New York Times list of 52 must-go sites in the world.