Many heritage tanks and temple ponds in the Old Town area of Bhubaneswar have been reduced to a shadow of their past glory. Over the years, relentless urbanisation and neglect in maintenance have degenerated the water bodies into garbage dumps for neighbourhoods and the stagnant waters filled with slush and slime becoming breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Devipadahara Kunda
A case in point is the ancient Devipadahara Kunda situated near the Lingaraj temple. The heritage tank is surrounded by 100 miniature temple like structures - almost of the same height and size - that house small ‘lingams’ and date back to 11th century.
Last year, a deserted spot near Devipadahara was transformed into a garden by Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) with a part of the landscape being turned into an elevated viewing platform from where visitors can see the beautiful pond. Around ` 30 lakh was spent to give a facelift to the garden. Today, however, the beautiful pond and the structures paint a picture of neglect. Of the 100 temple-like structures, many have been damaged and some even broken completely. Ironically, the tank is protected as a heritage site by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
Negligence on the part of the ASI and misuse by devotees and dwellers nearby have converted it into a stinking pond with algae floating over its dirty green water. The boundary wall of the tank has cracked at many places and religious offerings are dumped into the water.
The Lingaraj temple administration officials said even as the State Government plans to improve the infrastructure around the temple, not much is being done by the Government or the ASI to protect and beautify the pond and the small temple-like structures housing the lingams. “The space beside the pond is used as a parking lot for two and four-wheelers and one can find tourists and devotees, visiting the temple, dumping plastic packets and other garbage into the pond every day. To worsen the situation, the ASI hasn’t cleaned the pond since ages,’’ said Lingaraj temple administration manager Devendra Mohanty.
Although Government last year had planned to clear the structures adjoining the Devipadahara for a clear view of the Lingaraj temple from the water tank, no work has been initiated yet.
Papanasini Kunda
Located nearby is sacred Papanasini Kunda, another 11 century water body, on the premises of Papanasini temple at Badheibanka square. Also protected under ASI, the boundary of the tank is in need of urgent repair and algal deposits have settled on the water.
Besides, the tank is a classic case of encroachment. It has been encroached upon from all sides by people who have set up shops in violation of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 2010, which prohibits any construction within 100 metres of a protected structure. With constructions coming up around the tank, all its inlets and outlets have been either blocked or encroached. Sources said water of the tank is cleaned only during festivals when deities of Lingaraj temple are brought here for a bath.
Although demand for a revamped drainage system for Papanasini tank has been made umpteen times to the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation and ASI by officials of the temple, assurances by officials concerned have not yielded any result.
Superintending Archaeologist, Bhubaneswar circle, AK Patel, said: “We have filed complaints with the local police authorities against encroachments around the tank.” He said the Papanasini tank and the historical structures near it will be renovated and the makeshift shops near its sidewalls would be removed soon. “Recently, at a meeting with the Revenue Divisional Commissioner Arabinda Padhee, a committee was formed to take on the illegal structures around ancient structures,” Patel added.
Anandi Gadia
Similar is the plight of Anandi Gadia, located outside the Brahmeswar temple. This natural spot is today covered with a sheet of algae and is unfit for human use. Its side walls are broken and the pond is used by locals as a dumping yard.
Once the pride of the locality, the pond has become blight on the landscape after years of neglect left it choked with weeds and lotus plants. The stagnant water in the pond is a health hazard for the neighbourhood and the water body’s bed is filled with slush.
Sources said as the pond under Basuaghai gram panchayat does not fall under Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, nothing is being done to renovate it. Meanwhile, officials of the gram panchayat maintain that they have submitted a proposal to the State Government to take up renovation works of the pond which can be used for the purpose of water harvesting.
