New Delhi, Aug 26 (IANS): The government is focussed on not only preserving historical monuments but developing circles across India, conserving India's ancient monuments, sites and heritage alike.

On Wednesday, the Culture Ministry announced 7 new circles of the Archaeological Survey of India. Trichy, Raiganj, Rajkot, Jabalpur, Jhansi and Meerut have been announced as new circles and Hampi Mini Circle has been converted into a full fledged circle.

Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism Prahlad Singh Patel said that the Ministry of Culture has taken this step in accordance with the Prime Minister's call to facilitate and strengthen the process of preservation and registration of archaeological monuments along with the registration of artefacts with self declaration. The Minister informed that new circles have been created in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal and Gujarat.

In Archaeology, Hampi city in Karnataka is a place of international repute hence Hampi Mini Circle has been converted into a full fledged circle, the Minister added. Hampi is a major tourist destination as well, due to its historical importance. Earlier there were 29 ASI circles across the country.

Patel stressed Tamil Nadu's rich heritage of temples and glorious memories of the Chola kings while announcing that Trichy has been made a new circle along with the circle of Chennai. Karnataka is an important state in terms of holiness.

Hampi city in Karnataka is a place of international importance from the point of view of archaeological heritage therefore the Hampi Sub-Circle now has been made a new full fledged circle. In West Bengal, Raiganj has been made a new circle along with Kolkata. This will eliminate geographical inconvenience in a big state like Bengal. In Gujarat too, Rajkot has been announced as a new circle along with Vadodara.

The Minister added that Jabalpur has been announced as a new circle along with Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. This will include the monuments from Jabalpur, Rewa, Shahdol and Sagar divisions.

He also informed that Jhansi in Bundelkhand and Meerut in western Uttar Pradesh have been announced as two new circles along with Lucknow and Agra in Uttar Pradesh.