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Journalism of Courage
Bhubaneswar, Nov 7: The people of cyclone-hit Bishanpur village in the coastal Jagatsinghpur district in Orissa have recently stumbled upon an ancient edifice believed to be of Mughal period.
The chance discovery was made when the villagers, while digging sand from a field near Mahanadi river bank, came across the sprawling structure made up of brick and lime stone.
The sub-divisional police officer, A K Panigrahi, said the matter had been referred to the Archaeological Survey of India. The police requested the locals not to cause any damage to the structure.
The roofless dome-shaped edifice having characteristics of an Islamic structure has a number of doors and windows for ventilation, according to Alok Das, a resident of the village.
The dilapidated structure wears the look of a prayer hall, he said.
Another local person Suresh Hazari said the villagers tried to dig some portion of the structure with utmost care so that nothing beneath it would be damaged. But having little expertise in such an exercise, they failed to save a part of the wall on the northern portion from crumbling, he said.
The villagers told some visiting media persons that there were several inscriptions on different parts of the wall in what seems to be Arabic script.
