Puri: Many of the holy ponds in the Pilgrim City here are in deplorable condition thanks to the apathy of the district administration.
According to sources, enough attention is not paid to the conservation of the heritage water bodies like Indradyumna pond, Markandeya pond, Swetaganga pond and Parvati Sagar pond here.
Sources said the north wall of the Parvati Sagar pond, situated near Srilokanath Temple, had collapsed due to torrential rains October 20, 2017. However, it is yet to be repaired even though around two years have passed. About 100 ft of the side wall, which was in vulnerable condition, had caved in due to heavy rains.
The Parvati Sagar pond holds significance as thousands of Kawanrias lift water from here for worshipping Lord Lokanath in the Hindu month of Shravan. The devotees also use the pond water before visiting the shrine. Similarly, they take a holy dip in the pond on the last Monday of Shravan. This apart, Lord’s utensils are also washed in the pond.
It is learnt that around 10,000 Bol Bom devotees had offered water to Lord Lokanath on the first Monday of Shravan this year. Many of the devotees expressed their anguish over lack of proper maintenance of the pond.
Meanwhile, the pond is filled with air-borne garbage after the collapse of the side wall.
Blaming the geographical location of the pond for the situation, temple manager Apachha Parida said, “The Srilokanath temple and Parvati Sagar pond are situated in low-lying area of the Holy City. The pond is surrounded by huge amount of sand on three of its sides. So, there is enormous pressure on the side walls. The load on the side walls increases during rains.”
Parida also said that an estimate has been made by the Roads and Buildings (R&B) department after measuring the collapsed portion of the wall. The R&B department had decided to undertake the repair work under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Transformation (AMRUT) Yojana. “It was decided that the wall will be repaired during summer as it is difficult to do so during the rains, but the work is yet to commence. We hope the administration will start the work sooner.”