GUWAHATI, July 27 � Though thousands of devotees and tourists from different parts of Assam and even from other states flock to the famous Basistha temple every day, the Government has failed to play its part for the development of the temple and its surrounding areas and even at present anti-social elements disturb the sanctity of the area from time to time.
The grant sanctioned to the temple by the Government will definitely surprise anyone as the temple has been sanctioned an annual grant of Rs 720 by the Government. But the temple management committee has not withdrawn the grant for years as the meager grant means nothing under the present circumstances.
Talking to The Assam Tribune, Binode Sarma, a member of the temple management committee, said that country liquor dens have been set up within a radius of half a kilometer from the temple premises, which often disturbs the sanctity of the temple. He said that from time to time, the police carries out raids in the country liquor dens and pick up anti-social elements, but the dens start operating again after a few days. The need of the hour is regular vigil by the police to deal with the problem.
The temple premises are littered with bins, and even liquor bottles are seen in the rivers. Commenting on the problem, Sarma said that efforts are being made by the management committee to make the people aware of the need for keeping the area clean. But there is very little the management committee can do in this regard if the people do not understand the need for keeping the area clean. The management committee has decided to put up plastic dust bins in the temple premises, but the possibility of those being stolen at night cannot be ruled out as the committee does not have the funds required to post adequate number of security guards at night to keep a close watch on the whole area.
The shops set up near the temple premises also caused problem as the land belongs to the temple and breaking the agreement, some of the shop owners have started staying with their families and now it is difficult to evict them. The shop owners were allowed to set up their shops in the area with the condition that they would not transform the area into a residential one, but a good number of them broke the agreement, Sarma added.
The road leading to the temple is in dilapidated state and needs immediate improvement. The temple committee has taken up the issue with the Government on a number of occasions but so far, no concrete step has been taken in this regard and only recently steps have been initiated to replace a wooden bridge with a concrete one. Despite repeated requests, the Government has failed to provide water supply, which posed serious problems for the temple management committee as well as to the devotees. A number of buses playing on the route are parked near the temple premises at night and as the drivers and cleaners stay inside the buses at night, there is every possibility of some of them indulging in activities like drinking near the temple premises at night. Only two security guards are posted in the premises at night and it is not possible for them to keep a close watch in the entire area.
Commenting on the financial position of the temple management committee, Sarma said that the temple is run mainly from the donations from the devotees. He said that apart from that, rent collected from the shops set up inside temple road and Rs 10 a day collected from the city buses plying in the route also sustains the temple. �The temple has 16 priests and 12 employees and paying them in addition to maintaining the temple is a costly affair . At present we are just managing to maintain the temple and no major development work can be undertaken,� Sarma added.
