Report revealed that the waters of many of the tanks were tested in certified labs. Of the 30 tanks surveyed, 18 were found to be dangerously contaminated. The presence of E Coli Bacteria and Faecal bacteria was found in almost all the tanks. Very low Ph and Dissolved Oxygen levels have rendered these tanks as dead water bodies.
Bhubaneswar 19th Jan : The Report on Intach’s Project “Sacred Waters: Preservation Strategy for Temple Tanks” was released today at the Old Town of Bhubaneswar. This project of Intach is another commitment for heritage preservation. Anisha Swain, Preservation Architect has made a meticulous study of the present status of these tanks and the remedial measures that should be taken. The report was released by Shri A.B.Tripathy, Intach’s State Convener and Dr. S. S. Ray, Director General, KIIT School of Architecture & Planning. According to Tripathy, Odisha arguably has the largest number of temple tanks anywhere in the country. Bhubaneswar and other cities like Puri, Cuttack, Berhampur, Paralakhemundi, Jajpur, Balasore, Bhadrak, Balasore and Sambalpur have many temple tanks. Besides temple tanks, Odisha has close to 150,000 pokharis or common village ponds. All of these are in a state of utter neglect. In her study, Anisha has found that the heritage temple tanks, ponds and wells in the Old Town area of Bhubaneswar have been reduced to a shadow of their past glory. Over the years, relentless urbanisation and neglect in maintenance have degenerated the water bodies, converting them into cess pools. Anil Dhir, Intach’s Bhubaneswar Convener said that there is urgent need for reviving these temple tanks. The natural aquifers have all dried up due to depletion of ground water resulting from sinking of deep bore wells in the heritage zone.
Anisha’s Report had revealed that the waters of many of the tanks were tested in certified labs. Of the 30 tanks surveyed, 18 were found to be dangerously contaminated. The presence of E Coli Bacteria and Faecal bacteria was found in almost all the tanks. Very low Ph and Dissolved Oxygen levels have rendered these tanks as dead water bodies. The presence of alarming levels of pesticides, metals, algae, including arsenic and fluoride have made these tanks and their waters unusable. In fact the report insists that proper signage should be put up as warning not to go into the water. Recommendations in the report have suggested that polluting the temple tanks should be discouraged by meting out stricter consequences. The inlets and the outlets should be regularly cleaned and maintained. The maintenance of the tanks should be entrusted to local stakeholder committees. The report will be useful for conservationists, heritage experts, ASI and the State Archaeology in formulating plans for saving these vitally important water bodies. The program was conducted by Prof.Adyash Das and question-answer-session was moderated by education leader and author Panchami Manoo Ukil.
