Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday announced that his government will construct a memorial of Magadha king Jarasandha in the ancient town of Rajgir in Nalanda district.
He alleged that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was not properly maintaining the protected site of 'Jarasandha ka akhara' (battleground of Jarasandha).
Speaking at the inauguration of the Ganga Water Supply Scheme (GWSS) in Rajgir, he said, "The state government has decided to construct a memorial of Jarasandha on its land in Rajgir town. This will be close to 'Jarasandha ka akhara', which is not being properly maintained by the ASI. I have asked them several times in the past to hand over the site to the state government for better maintenance."
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"Since the ASI is not willing to hand over the protected site to the Bihar government, we have decided to construct a memorial close to it," the CM said.
As per archaeologists, Rajgir was Jarasandha's capital. In Mahabharata, it is mentioned that this is where Bhima fought and ripped apart Jarasandha's body into two parts and threw those in opposite directions to prevent those from rejoining.
Despite repeated attempts by PTI, Goutami Bhattacharya, Superintending Archaeologist (ASI, Patna circle) was not available for her comments on the CM's remark.
