ASI notice on encroachment near Nakodar Kos Minar

JALANDHAR: The Archeological Survey of India ASI has issued a notice to a Nakodarbased sweetshop owner to stop illegal construction around Kos Minar a national heritage monument declared as protected

Updated At : 07:37 AM May 03, 2017 IST

Kos Minar at Nakodar in Jalandhar. A Tribune Photograph

Rachna Khaira

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, May 2

The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has issued a notice to a Nakodar-based sweetshop owner to stop illegal construction around Kos Minar, a national heritage monument declared as protected.

The shop-owner, Mehandi Ratta, runs a sweetshop in Nakodar and was to build the third floor on his shop. However, he received the notice as soon as he began the construction work.

Officials at the ASI sub-circle office said that the area up to 100 m from the protected monument had been declared as prohibited area and further 200 m was a regulatory area.

What is Kos?

Kos is an ancient Indian unit of distance. It can represent either a distance of approximately 1.8 km (1.1 mi) or 3.2 km (2.0 mi). Minar is a Persian word for tower. Abul Fazl recorded in Akbar Nama that in the year 1575 AD, Akbar issued an order that at every Kos on the way from Agra to Ajmer, a pillar or a minar should be erected for the comfort of the travelers.

Historical significance of Kos Minars

The Kos Minars or Mile Pillars are medieval milestones along the Grand Trunk Road that were made by the 16th-century Pashtun ruler Sher Shah Suri and later by Mughal emperors. These Minars were erected by the Mughal emperors on the main highways across the empire to mark the distance. The Kos Minar is a solid round pillar; around 30 feet (9.1 m) in height that stands on a masonry platform built with bricks and plastered over with lime. Though not architecturally very impressive, being milestones, they were an important part of communication and travel in a large empire.

Kos Minars were used to mark the royal route from Agra to Ajmer via Jaipur in the west, from Agra to Lahore via Delhi in the north and from Agra to Mandu via Shivpuri in the south. Modern Indian highways have come up along roughly the same routes as those marked by these minars.

Kos Minars in Jalandhar

There are presently seven Kos Minars in the district and all were declared as monuments of national importance. These include the one erected at the following places:

y Khanpur Dhadda village

y Dakhani Jahangir village

y Tut Kalan

y Bir village

y Uppal Khalsa village

y Cheema Kalan

y Shampur village