Forget commoners, waterlogging has not spared the gods in Bhubaneswar. Several heritage monuments at Old Town have fallen prey to rain and encroachments around them. The monsoon has made things worse with these temples going underwater. Anwesha Ambaly of The Telegraph takes a look at the state of these prominent heritage shrines

Megheswar Temple

The temple is under knee-deep water, making it inconvenient for the priest to worship the deities. There is a drain from the temple through which water used to flow into the Bindusagar tank, but encroachments around the temple has blocked the channel.

Kedareswar Temple

The Shiv lingam in the temple’s sanctum sanctorum lies submerged in water. With the priests reluctant to enter the shrine, the idol could not be worshipped for the past few days. Even the civic body has not come forward to help the temple authorities.

Kedar Gouri Temple

This is one of Bhubaneswar’s eight Ashtasambhu temples. With illegal buildings covering the drains, the 9th century temple premises lie partially submerged in water. Pollution has also contaminated the Kedar Gouri tank, which is believed to have medicinal properties.

Vaitaal Temple

Its compound has almost turned into a pool. In 2013, the ASI had taken up the job to regularly pump out accumulated water, but that did not yield any results. Popularly known as Teen Mundia Mandir, a striking feature of the temple is its sanctuary tower. Lack of a proper system to drain out excess water is a big threat to the 8th century shrine.

WAITING FOR ACTION

These heritage structures are threatened because the ASI, State Archaeology Department and the civic body do not act in cohesion. Waterlogging in these shrines is an annual problem but the authorities have done precious little to drain out excess water. The Telegraph finds out what the authorities have to say

The State Archaeology’s job is conservation and protection. We don’t take care of drainage and waterlogging issues. However recently, we decided to form a committee and identify temples facing serious threats. We’ll take steps, which includes building an integrated drainage system, to resolve the problem

Sanghamitra Satpathy
superintendent, State Archaeology

We have already started taking steps such as engaging security guards to check encroachment on parts and portions around temples under the ASI. Since prevention of waterlogging requires planning, we need some time to sort things out

Hemasagar A. Naik
superintending archaeologist, Bhubaneswar ASI Circle

Heritage protection covers a major portion of the smart city initiatives. We will take up the issue with the culture department and the ASI to chalk out a roadmap. We are hopeful to have a proper system by next year. Teams have been formed to drain out water from the temples

Ananta Narayan Jena
mayor, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation