Ideological Push: Work soon on Indus Valley sites

The government has approved plans to develop the Indus Valley Civilisation sites of Rakhigarhi and Dholavira as iconic tourist sites, along with Hastinapur, described as the capital of Kuru Kingdom in the epic Mahabharata.

In keeping with the BJP’s ideological push to promoting the country’s culture and heritage, the culture ministry will also develop Shiv Sagar in Assam, the capital of the Ahom Rajas and Adichanallur, the capital of Pandian kings in Tamil Nadu.

These sites will also be connected by premium Tejas Express trains for the ease of tourists, officials said following the announcement by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech on Saturday.


First discovered in 1956, Dholavira saw start of excavations only 35 years later. According to experts, it is believed to be more than 4,000 years old and was in continuous occupation for over 1,000 years. Work on the site has already begun, said a culture ministry official. “Museums will come up around these sites, and also hotels and other necessary infrastructure,” said the official.

The allocation for the culture ministry has increased to Rs 3,150 for 2020-21 from Rs 2,843 cr this fiscal while Rs 2,500 cr has been allocated to the tourism ministry, up from Rs 1,378 cr.