Centre to assist Orissa for world heritage sites-Sengupta

Bhubaneswar, May 20 (UNI) The Union government will initiate steps to help accord the status of world heritage sites to old Bhubaneswar, Lingaraj temple and the Kedargouri temple, Union Culture Secretary Abhijit Sengupta said.

Mr Sengupta yesterday said, the Union government will open a branch of the national archive at Bhubaneswar.

The construction of the archive would start after the state government removed the encroachment from the land allotted to it in 1999.

The Union Secretary said the Archaeological Survey of India had already declared 78 monuments as protected in the state and was considering the state government's request to declare some more monuments as centrally protected.

UNI BD-DP SJC KK KN0844