Lord Jagannath may face drinking water crisis in future

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Lord Jagannath may face drinking water crisis in future

 

The Pioneer

 

Bhuvaneshwar (Pioneer News Service) - If Humans are

allowed to have their way, soon Lord Jagannath will be

facing a drinking water crisis.

 

With part of the 705 acre sweet water aquifer Arda in the

holy town being allegedly leased out for construction

purposes environmentalists like Behari Das have begun to

visualise a future scenario when entire Puri including

the fabled 12th century shrine of Lord Jagannath would go

without sweet water supply.

 

What will be available then would be the brackish water

of the sea. Lord's kitchen -- the largest in the world

will also suffer because of this, said Mr Das lashing out

at the Puri municipal and revenue authorities for

allegedly violating the law in leasing out reserved land

containing sweet water sources.

 

The 705 acre sweet water aquifer belt near Baligapanda

and Chakratirtha is the prime source of sweet water

supply for the town.

 

While 497.68 acres of this falls in Chakrathirtha area of

the town, the rest is in Baliapanda. Das alleged that

178.43 acre of this land reserved since 1931 has been

leased out to various organisations while another 100

acre has been encroached upon.

 

Hitting out at the Government, the politician turned

environmentalist said that the offence had been

compounded by the building approval granted on this land

to real estate developers. They very well know that if

the underground water of Puri town and Lord Jagannath's

wells are polluted, ultimately the whole town and the

deity will face a drinking water crisis.

 

"They will be pathetically dependent on the brackish

water from the sea but do these worshippers have any

respect for the people of the god?" he asked rather

sarcastically.

 

Alleging that soon big people and organisations will be

acquiring this land already leased out to them by the

municipality, the environmentalist said the saddest part

was that urban development brass sitting in Bhuvaneshwar

were finding themselves helpless in checking the alleged

violation of law.

 

"It seems the government's urban development department

has realised the gravity of the problem of late but their

writ does not seem to run in Puri where all norms are

being violated with immunity," he said.

 

Significantly, Das has sought to raise this issue after a

long campaign against pollution and illegal constructions

in the holy town which attracts thousands of tourists

everyday.

 

However, the beach, despite campaigns by the likes of him

remains on ugly sight with hotels and eateries allegedly

releasing their waste on the sands.