arpita chakrabarty almora a 9th century stone statue of lakulisha the last incarnation of lord shiva found its way back to jageshwar temple complex in almora district on the first day of the nationwide world heritage week on wednesday the sculpture was allegedly stolen from jageshwar in 1960 more than three decades later it was traced to the metropolitan museum of art in new york usa the idol was brought back to india after several rounds of negotiations between the governments of the two nations thereafter it was housed at the central antiquity collection in new delhi from where it was finally brought back to its original abode over 50 years later jageshwar temple complex is a group of nearly 125 temples built between the 9th and 16th centuries by rulers of katyuri and chand dynasties over 25 inscriptions from different time periods can still be seen on the temple pillars reinstating the statue prof h s dhami vicechancellor of kumaun university stressed upon the need to be aware and protective of our cultural and natural heritage as well as our oral history it is of utmost importance that folklore and oral history surrounding demigods of uttarakhand be properly documented before they are lost in time the vc said he also expressed hope that the two local languages of the hill state kumaoni and garhwali soon receive official status as state languages i request the locals that they protect the heritage moments like they protect their own house said t r sharma regional director of archaeological survey of india who was also present at the occasion the asi also put together a photo exhibition of indias unesco heritage sites and the progress of revival and restoration at kedarnath temple following the 2013 flashfloods world heritage week held from november 19 to november 25 every year is an initiative to celebrate and spread awareness regarding unesco certified world heritage sites 32 of which are located in india