Udayagiri, the 6th century Buddhist monastery in Jajpur district, which lies neglected since long, is not attracting many footfalls. The excavation works near the site are not carried out as the surrounding land remains encroached.
The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) dug only a portion of Udayagiri. But the ASI has yet to excavate other sites. Due to lack of space, many unearthed Buddha and other images are lying neglected, said sources.
Many Buddhist monks used to live in several caves and rooms in Udayagiri. But now all the caves are covered with trees. Three years back, the State Government had decided to spend around `2 crore to develop the Buddhist site by building roads, museum and guest houses.
But the project is yet to take off. The Government constructed a museum, guest houses and undertook other developmental works in lalitagiri, Ratnagiri and langudi, but it skipped Udayagiri though Udayagiri is more important than lalitagiri and Ratnagiri, said Udayagri Surakhaya Samti president Maheswar Bal. Many persons have illegally encroached upon the land and hills near Udayagiri. The authorities have failed to evict all the encroachers, added Bal.