Bateshwarnath Temple on Patharghatta hill in Kahalgaon, Muzaffarpur. Picture by Amit Kumar

A historic temple atop a hill on the outskirts of Kahalgaon town in Bhagalpur district is facing the threat of oblivion because of erosion caused by the Ganga.

Bateshwarnath Temple, constructed in the 7th century on Patharghatta hill, around 10km to Kahalgaon and 285km northeast of Patna, has been declared a protected site by Archaeological Survey of India. But the rising water level of the Ganga over the past few years is threatening to submerge the historic site.

The heavy rainfall over the past five or six days has aggravated the erosion. A large chunk of land at Siddi Ghat on the foothills of Patharghatta was eroded away by the torrential currents of the river. Residents of more than a dozen villages in the Kahalgaon sub-division have started to relocate, fearing a deluge.

Last year, then district magistrate of Bhagalpur Narmadeshwar Lal along with senior engineers of water resources department inspected the sites of erosion. The officials had assured residents of nearby villages that sufficient steps would be taken to ensure that the safett of the historic hill.

But the district administration had taken no steps yet to prevent the erosion, claimed Pawan Kumar Choudhary, a social worker in Kahalgaon.

“The Bateshwarnath Temple was constructed during the reign of the Pala dynasty, who ruled Bengal, Bihar and other parts of east India from 731 to 1174. It is unique for the presence of Goddess Parvati with Shiva. The temple is also a pilgrimage site for Hindus because the Ganga flows northward here,” he said.

Choudhary added: “Besides the temple, the caves in the hill are also important because they were used as tantra classes in Vikramshila university in ancient times.”

In 1997-98, the district administration constructed a community hall at the site and a developed a road to allow tourists to visit the temple easily. Boulders were also pitched in the riverbed to stem its flow.

The authorities, however, have not done much in recent times to protect the historic site, claim residents of the area.

Floods have been a recurring feature in the region for decades. Villages claim the situation has aggravated after the construction of the Farakka Barrage, around 100km east in Bengal. The barrage was inaugurated in 1975.

A resident said: “The state government had sanctioned funds for the construction of embankments along the Ganga in the 1960s. But the work is yet to be completed.”

Neither Bhagalpur district magistrate Prem Singh Meena nor sub-divisional officer Sanjoy Kumar were available for comment. A district administration official on the condition of anonymity told The Telegraph that the erosion would affect the historical site. He added that due to lack of adequate funds, the local administration was unable to take up any anti-erosion measure to protect it.

“We have started a correspondence with the central and state governments to get funds for the proposed river embankment. The administration is yet informed the ASI about the situation though,” he added.