Anantnag: The LG administration has decided to install the statue of Emperor Lalitaditya Muktapida in Martand Sun, an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to Surya (the Sun God) and located in the Mattan area of South Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
The construction of the Martand Sun Temple is attributed to King Lalitaditya Muktapida of the Karkota dynasty, who ruled Kashmir during the 8th century CE.
As per an official communique, the Jammu Kashmir administration has directed the Department of Culture to protect, conserve and restore the Martand Sun Temple.
“The government has also decided to install the statue of emperor Lalitaditya Muktapida who built the Martand Sun Temple during the 8th Century AD,” reads the communique.
Principal Secretary to the Government, Department of Culture shall take a meeting to discuss the matter regarding the protection, conservation, and restoration of the ancient temples in Kasmir with the installation of a statue of Emperor Lalitaditya Muktapida in the premises of Martand Sun Temple in Mattan Anantnag, it reads further.
The meeting is scheduled to be held on April 1 at the civil secretariat in Jammu, it added.
[KNT]