KENDRAPARA: A two-century-old idol of Buddha was found by some labourers when they were quarrying at the Asiya hill, near Udayagiri Buddhist monastery here recently.

According to a historian Bijaya Mohanty, the idols are in the form of Abalankar, one of the rare images of Buddha. He said, rare idols of Buddha and others are buried beneath the earth at Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri and Udayagiri areas and no measures are being taken by the Archaeological Survey of India, to excavate them.

He also said, last year one rare Buddha idol was decapitated by some unknown persons but any action has not been taken by the police despite an FIR filed by the ASI officials.