Buddha statues, Rock temples abandoned

Date: 30 Jun 2003 23:26:27 -0700
Newsgroups: soc.culture.sri-lanka
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Buddha statues, Rock temples abandoned
Matale group correspondent
The abandoned Buddha statues
The Buddha statues and murals of Dambulla Rock Temples are in a
deplorable state as they started decaying a couple of years ago due to
improper maintenance.
The murals on a stretch of 20,000 square feet wall and floor,
depicting some Jataka stories and religious events were built
protectively in five caves during ancient times. But following the
conservation activities implemented by the Cultural Triangle Project,
the leakage of water through the cracks on the wall has decayed the
murals.
The decayed murals
The Cultural Triangle Project officials when contacted said that they
had no fund to maintain the Rock Temple as their powers of controlling
the finance had been taken over by the temple authorities who did not
keep any account of the income and neglected to maintain the temple
- donations to causes like this are very worthwhile. But where do you
make a donation to something like this in the first place? Can someone
suggest some names of organisations that deal with this kind of
restoration work?
-many thanx
Balangodaya