The Umananda temple on the river island

March 29: Dispur’s tall claim of promoting religious tourism in the city has fallen flat with the fast deterioration in overall condition of the historical Umananda temple on an island in the middle of the Brahmaputra.

“The temple, which is located atop the Bhasmachala hill — or the hill of ashes — on an island on the Brahmaputra, has tremendous potential to attract tourists. But unfortunately, it is bereft of basic facilities required for visitors as well as devotees. There are no proper accommodation facilities for priests or resting places for visitors. Toilets are also in poor condition. Dilapidated staircases of the temple bear testimony of prolonged neglect,” said a person closely associated with the temple management.

Besides poor infrastructure, the temple plunges into darkness soon after the sunset. The Assam Energy Development Agency had implemented a project to light up the temple using solar energy about two years back. But the solar batteries and lamps supplied to the temple management have now become almost defunct, he said.

During winter, when the days are short, the solar cells fail to store enough power to illuminate the temple after 5 pm. The single generator is mainly being used to draw water from the Brahmaputra for drinking and other purposes, he said.

According to history, the island is where Lord Shiva burned Kaama, the god of lust, to ashes. The island, which is also known as Urvashi Island, is also threatened by soil erosion.

Urvasi Kund —where it is believed that Urvasi, one of the four celestial beauties, brought nectar for Kamakhya — is also situated on the island. Hundreds of devotees visit the island to worship Lord Shiva, who is also referred as Umananda or Bhayananda.

Sources said though the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has chalked out an ambitious project to beautify and develop the 17th-century temple, it has not been executed yet.

“The government is only talking big about development projects, including connecting the city and the island through a ropeway. Instead of going for big projects like the ropeway, the government should first develop and create basic facilities on the temple premises,” said Radha Bora, a resident of north Guwahati.

Denying the situation of the temple was so bad, a GMDA official said the government was serious about promoting religious tourism on the island and will soon execute a scheme to revamp the temple.