Kurupam Tomb, Vishakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh India

 The State government will very soon accord ‘protected monument' status to Kurupam Tomb on the Beach Road to pass on the 106-year-old structure to posterity. Destroying such cultural heritage structure was now punishable up to two years in jail or Rs.1 lakh penalty as per the Amendment in 2010, Mr. Reddy said. “We want to protect the monument in the available space by building a boundary wall and developing gardens and then take up restoration of the monument,” he said The Kurupam Tomb built around 1904-05 had Moghul architecture on marble in the arches at the entrance, Rajastani and Khajuraho style of sculpting and architecture from the Central/Northern India, said additional director K. Chitti Babu.

He said 137 protected monuments of the Central Government and 625 of the State government were being looked after by the department. He announced Rs. 2.1 crore for improving the sites in Buddhist Circuit – at Thotlakonda (Rs.50 lakh), Bavikonda (Rs.50 lakh); Pavuralakonda (Rs.56 lakh); Bhimili Dutch Cemetery (Rs.30 lakh); Alluri Seetharamaraju tombs at K.D. Peta (Rs.15 lakh); and a monument in Narsipatnam (Rs.15 lakh).