Heritage heartache: Stalled work on Hindu shrine dismays Pakistanis

The pond in Katas Raj temple has dried up and been reduced to a dirty puddle.

NEW DELHI: India and Pakistan hit a high in bilateral ties when BJP leader L K Advani laid the foundation stone for the restoration of Katas Raj Temple complex near Chakwal in Pakistan' Punjab in 2005. Religion that had divided the subcontinent for over half-a-century was sought to cement ties between both countries. But seven years on, the move didn't live up to expectations, thanks to ups and downs in ties and official apathy across the border. The shrine' centrepiece — the Shri Amar Kund pond which is believed to have formed from one of Lord Shiva's teardrops which he shed to mourn his consort's death — has dried up due to three cement factories near the shrine. The shrine, it is believed, was where the Pandavas stayed for four years during their 14-year exile.

Even the restoration work is said to be in shambles. Pakistani columnist Ayaz Amir, the parliamentarian from the area said the restoration work has been a disaster and blamed the Punjab Archaeology Department for the shoddy work "Hideous iron railing, cheap marble tiles on footpaths and lime plaster on the ancient brickwork has ruined the place, he told Sunday Times from Islamabad "No one could tell how deep the pond was But for the first time, a puddle at the bot tom is all that remains." He said the drying of the pond was sacrilegious, saying that not only was it sacred to the Hindu faith "but is a part of our civilization too." Amir said the factories have even damaged the beautiful hills in the area that are the part of the famed Salt Range and among the oldest in the world.

Pakistan's leading daily, Dawn blamed the depleted level in the pond to the fact that water was being sup plied to nearby villages and to tube wells installed for the cement factories. It reported that though factories had pledged to arrange water from the Jehlum, they had later installed tube wells near the shrine.

The local government had given the nod for the establishment of the cement plants around the same time Advani was invited to visit Pakistan. His visit was better remembered for his statement hailing Pakistan's founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah as a secular leader and its political repercussions.

The Pakistan government had declared the shrine where Yudhishthira is said to have restored his dead brothers to life a protected site in 1956. The complex comprising of temples dating back to the seventh and 10th centuries is spread over 50 acres and is some 40km from Chakwal.

Pakistani columnist-author Salman Rashid blamed corruption for the shrine's sorry state. He described the factories' Environment Impact Assessment as "a piece of utter deception" and blamed corrupt officials for clearing it "Cement being a water intensive industry...suck(s) up the water from not just the soil but from all nearby water bodies," he wrote in The Express Tribune.

He said that he was horrified to see that the pond had shrunk to a mere fraction of its size. "In the 1920s, a civil servant wrote that the oval-size pond, measuring about 40 m at the widest, was fed by submerged springs (besides rain water) and had a depth of 6.7 m."

Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardai recently described the shrine as a "part of our civilization too" and assured its preservation and protection after taking note of media reports that "environmental degradation caused by industrial complexes" had destroyed its "pristine beauty and threatened the natural water pond with complete extinction".

The president's assurance holds out hope for a shrine that is one of the most enduring symbols of a heritage the two countries share. Its restoration not only has the potential of attracting pilgrims from India, but could cement ties too.

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