35 monuments become history; govt can't find them

New Delhi: Of the 3,675 monuments protected by the Central government 35 are not traceable, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday.

"Out of 3,675 centrally protected monuments or sites, 35 are not traceable," said V Narayanasamy, Minister of State for Planning and Parliamentary Affairs.

Narayanasamy said that the main causes for the disappearance of these monuments was "urbanization, commercialization and implementation of development projects."

"The disappearance came to light in the course of surveys of monuments and it is not feasible to fix individual responsibility.

In Delhi alone 12 monuments have disappeared. Eight sites in Uttar Pradesh, three each from Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir and two each in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana are also untraceable.

One monument each in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Karnataka have gone missing.

Inchla Wali Gumti, Joga Bai, Shamsi Tallab, Nicholson Statue as well as the Alipur and Barakhamba cemetery are some of the heritage sites in the national capital which are untraceable, Narayanasamy said.

One site in Karnataka and three in Jammu and Kashmir including the rock carving of Sitala, are also missing.

In Uttar Pradesh, the large ruins at Sandi Khera Cemetery in Hardoi, Gunner Burkill's Tomb in Lalitpur and tombs in and around Lucknow have disappeared.