India, July 4 -- The Bombay high court on Wednesday directed the Maharashtra government to take concrete steps to protect the ancient petroglyph and geoglyph sites in Ratnagiri district, several of which are on UNESCO's tentative list of World Heritage Sites.

Petroglyphs and geoglyphs are ancient rock carvings and surface designs etched into the earth, offering invaluable insight into early human civilisation and prehistoric art forms.

A division bench of chief justice Alok Aradhe and justice Sandeep Marne was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by two farmers and a local government employee from Ratnagiri, seeking protection and preservation of these fragile archaeological sites. The petitioners had urged the court to dire...