Pic ASIDat 01 Satkanda Palace, Datia, a view from inside
Neglect by Archaeological Survey of India,
Illustrations from Datia Palace [1]
-Rohit Kumar Parmar [2]
Adding layers in an otherwise top heavy bureaucracy, apart from adding to costs (notional cost of expensive space in Lutyens/Delhi, payment of wages to regular Chairperson, Members/Secretary, other staff/consultants; perks to regular and part-time members, administrative and IT costs, etc.), distances decision makers from the grass roots and ensures continuous neglect, especially of historical monuments. The Ministry of Culture has a Cabinet Minister, two Ministers of State, (all albeit additional charge), Secretary and hierarchies of Archaeological Survey of India and National Monuments Authority of India, alongside neglect observed in several monuments, including the Datia Palace, illustrations given below.
Datia Palace is not well-maintained and is in dire need of attention. Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) the agency responsible for looking after Datia Palace spares no effort to display it’s indifference. Apart from the customary stone/ marble block giving scanty detail, information on the website is incorrect.
Pic ASIDat 02 Customary ASI Stone, Satkanda Palace, Datia
As per information downloaded on 13.10.2022 from the website https://asibhopal.nic.in/monument/datia_datia_birsinghpalace.html# , the nearest airport is stated to be Indore (493 km), even though there are airports nearer to Datia -Bhopal (374 km), Gwalior (83 kms), Khajuraho (203 kms and started in 1978) and Delhi (400 km).
Pic ASIDat 03 Screenshot of ASI website on 13.10.2022 for Satkanda Palace, Datia
The website also states that there is no entry ticket. The ticket purchased for ` 25 on 14.02.2022 by the author, which included an amount of ` 5 as AC (stated to be a charge in lieu of on-line booking, which was not possible in the absence of a mobile/other signal) follows
Pic ASIDat 04 Entry ticket purchased on 14.02.2022 for Satkanda Palace, Datia
Surely, top heavy bureaucracy/organizations cannot be expected to cross-check trivial details uploaded by a state office of ASI (link given above).
Ministry of Culture may please take steps to correct the information, issue a press release on the same, and take steps to improve the monument.
[1] The regular article on this is available at [2] Author has in posts on his website (https://rohitkparmar.wixsite.com/site), twitter (https://twitter.com/rohitkparmar?s=09), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/rohit.parmar.5268750/), LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohit-kumar-parmar-841b4724) been writing on diverse topics including historical sites and can be reached at rohitkparmar@yahoo.com.
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