With the aim of making the UNESCO World Heritage site Ellora Caves more tourist-friendly, a slew of measures will be undertaken by the Archaeological Survey of India. Among these is installation of a hydraulic lift – making these caves the first monument in India to have this facility.
Located 30 kilometres from Aurangabad, Maharashtra, Ellora is the one of the largest rock-cut temple complexes in the world. It houses Hindu, Buddhist and Jain sculptures and has heavy tourist traffic.
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The Kailasa temple (Cave 16) is the largest of 34 Buddhist, Jain & Hindu cave temples known collectively as Ellora Caves. Most of construction is attributed to the 8th century Rashtrakuta king Krishna-I with some elements completed later. pic.twitter.com/9Qd1Um93Lk
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Talking to PTI, Milan Kumar Chauley, the Superintendent Archaeologist of Aurangabad Circle said: "The ASI has been undertaking several projects to make Ellora Caves, which is spread across a stretch of 500 metres, more tourist-friendly. These projects are either in the process of being sanctioned or being executed.”
The complex has 34 caves and of this the Kailash Cave (No. 16) is very popular with the visitors. It is a double-storey structure and tourists have to climb a staircase or go up a ramp to enjoy the view from the top. While the ramp enables smooth movement of wheelchairs, the ASI proposes to install small lifts on both sides of the structure, Chauley said.
Allaying fears of construction, he said: "There will be no construction activity for installing these lifts. The mechanism will be small with a 9 square feet area, in which a person in a wheelchair can easily go to the first floor.”
Further to enable visitors to get a top view of the Kailash Caves which is surrounded by hills, a route will be constructed on the upper hill.
The ASI also plans to install lights for some paintings and carry out conservation work on some parts and for this paperwork is underway to work out the cost of the project.
Other amenities planned by the ASI for this site which sees the footfall of 2,000 to 3,000 visitors including international travellers daily, for making accessible and tourist friendly include increasing the number of ticket counters, new toilet blocks and landscaping.
Sharing details, Chauley said: "We plan to increase the number of ticket counters at Ellora and set up a centralised counter for visitors who want to hire guides. There will be a single entry and exit point for the complex and we also plan to do some landscaping with selfie points for tourists to make the experience more enjoyable.”
Three to four toilet blocks with sanitary pad disposal machines will be added and an electric vehicle service in the cave premises will start from next month.
