The neglected ancient temples of Himachal Pradesh

To restore the lost glory of the ancient town of Bilaspur, the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has suggested conducting a technicality feasibility study about the condition of ancient temples need to be restored.

Bilaspur (Himachal Pradesh):The ancient temples in Himachal Pradesh's Bilaspur district have been fighting for their existence for more than 60 decades, and the government has no plan to shift these temples.

The town of Bilaspur along with several temples submerge in the Gobind Sagar reservoir of the Bhakra Dam every year. The people of old Bilaspur have also donated land for the Bhakra dam. Despite the sacrifice of people, they have not been given their rights.

During rainy days, the submerged temples in Gobindsagar lake have appeared again as the temples of ancient culture are still waiting for restoration.

To restore the lost glory of the ancient town of Bilaspur, the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has suggested conducting a technicality feasibility study about the condition of ancient temples that are proposed to be relocated.

The Department of Language and Culture also started a campaign to restore and re-establish these temples from the submerged place to Kunala. The department had also registered land for temples. Now the process of transfer of land has been started due to which the ancient temples have been renovated.

At the same time, the administration had sought applications to provide land to the displaced in Bilaspur. Around 1100 displaced people had applied. The land has not been given to more than 500 displaced people and they are demanding their proper settlement.

Displaced people facing problems since 1960

Bilaspur district with a population of 3.5 lakhs and an area of 1167 square kilometre was formed on July 1, 1954. The displaced people have been facing problems since the year 1960. The government and administration have neither restored the submerged temples nor settled the displaced people.

Lord Krishna temple is also called Mathh Khajur Temple. There were many temples under this Mathh Khajur temple. All these temples are now submerged in Gobindsagar lake. These temples were built by King Abhaysar Chand of Kahlur dynasty. The capital of Kahlur was Kotkahlur.

Trarog Temple submerged in Gobindsagar lake

On the banks of Satluj river, there were statues of Lord Krishna and Radha of Trarog Temple. The statues of stone had Sun God over it. This temple has also been submerged in Gobindsagar lake.

Rangnath Temple submerged in Gobindsagar lake

Rangnath Temple has Goddess Sati, Kali, Lord Ganesha and Hanuman temples. Now the ruins of the temple have also been broken. The government had planned to establish the ruins of Ranganath temple and some other temples in the new city of Bilaspur, but the work has not yet started.

In a meeting of District Cultural Council Bilaspur 20-22 years ago, there was a matter of transferring the ruins of old temples submerged in the lake to the new city in front of the President of the Council and the then Deputy Commissioner. Retired District Language Officer Dr Anita Sharma was the Member Secretary of the District Cultural Council at that time.

Jagdish Sharma, a former Deputy Commissioner of Bilaspur, played a huge role in the talks of shifting the ruins of old temples. After that, the team of experts from the Archaeological Department of Delhi and Chandigarh had come for a survey.

The team of experts were finding the land for temples in New Bilaspur. They had also selected land of the King of Bilaspur in the city of Donoh. The land was finalized but the royal family members refused to give the land. Thus, the work had again stopped.

According to a report, there were 220 main temples and other religious places during the Kahlur dynasty. Out of these, only 99 temples received annual assistance of Rs. 5571 for regular worship from the king's treasury. There are more than 24 temples, mosques and gurudwaras submerged under Gobindsagar lake.