Culture Ministry to revive ASI’s underwater wing for explorations in four states

The Archaeological Survey of India’s (ASI) underwater wing is being resurrected for expeditions in four states with substantial coastlines, according to Ministry of Culture officials.

Officials indicate that numerous projects in Dwarka (Gujarat), the Cauvery delta (Tamil Nadu), and locations along the coast in Maharashtra and Odisha would be ready for excavations in the coming months. They note that there is currently no plan for the Ram Setu location.

Despite the fact that the ASI formed an underwater wing in 2001, it has been extinct for more than a decade, as per insiders, owing to a dearth of professionals at the leadership. Several underwater excavations have had to be abandoned in the past, including an offshore investigation in Tamil Nadu’s Poompuhar between 1981 and the early 2000s to unearth the 2000-year-old port of Kaveripattinam. Officials suggest that deeper research into the ancient port city, which supposedly had trading relations with the Roman empire and China, might provide more information.

The 31-member committee headed by BJP MP TG Venkatesh recommended to the Ministry of Culture in its 305th report on the Parliamentary Standing Committee on transport, tourism, and culture, which was submitted to the Rajya Sabha on February 2, that ‘underwater archaeological exploration has to be revived in the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Odisha’.

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The ministry responded by stating that the ASI was revitalising its underwater wing and Alok Tripathi, an extra director general-level official who had lately been assigned, was an expert in underwater archaeology.

The UAW, which was founded in 2001, is responsible for the exploration of Elephanta Island, Mahabalipuram in the Bay of Bengal, a site near Pondicherry, and the excavation of the ‘Princess Royal’ shipwreck in Lakshadweep. According to ASI authorities, near-shore explorations were also conducted at historic port sites like Chilka, Kalingapatnam, Machilipatnam, and Rameswaram.