GUWAHATI, Feb 25: The famous Kamakhya temple, a seat of tantrik studies and one of the holiest of the 52 shakti shrines in the country, may have to close down its gates and say no to pilgrims within the next few days. The reason: The temple is facing a severe shortage of water.``We are even facing problems in bathing the idols, especially the yoni-peeth, not to speak of preparing bhog for the Devi,'' said Paran Chandra Sharma, the doloi, that is, head of the religious section of the shrine.The Government water supply scheme has not been working for several weeks now, while a second water work, built in 1992, broke down the very day it was commissioned, and is still lying unrepaired.The pilgrims are having a tough time. The Soubhagya pukhuri, (pukhuri in Assamese means pond) where the pilgrims are required to wash their hands and feet and offer prayers before entering the sanctum sanctorum has dried up.Kamakhya, located atop the Nilachal hills, is -ironically - on the bank of the Brahmaputra. ``That is the biggest tragedy. We have been pleading with the state government as well as the Guwahati Municipal Corporation for several years to make proper arrangement for regular water supply. But there has been no result,'' the head priest said.The shakti shrine receives 4,000 pilgrims per day, while the temple township has about 8,000 residents. But with the water crisis becoming severe day by day, temple authorities have been forced to reject requests for individual pujas.They have also been compelled to put on hold applications for marriages, asking intending couples to look for a later date till the monsoon arrives.Residents and priests used to collect water from two or three springs in the hill, but those have also dried up, says Subvodh Adhikary, the temple superintendent. In Assam it has not rained for five months and the last it rained was during Diwali.The temple and the township, which earlier used to depend upon the ponds andsprings, had in the early Fifties set up its own water treatment plant with public donations. It was functioning well till the municipal corporation took over in the Seventies, said Ganga Prasad Sharma, a former municipal councillor.``Soon after, this 2000 cubic feet capacity plant turned sick, while the second unit, built at a cost of Rs 1.17 crore received as Central grant by the municipal corporation, developed cracks the day it was commissioned on May 22, 1992,'' Sharma added.The Kamakhya Temple Trust Board (KTTB) had filed a complaint with the Assam State Human Rights Commission but to no avail, sasy Subodh Adhikary. ``The Government boasts of Kamakhya and calls it the most important tourist attraction, second only to Kaziranga,'' says restaurateur Mrityunjay Sharma. ``But when it comes to solving its water problem, everybody shies away.''The 10 restaurants in the town are almost shut. The pilgrims are mostly the poor. And how can you offer them mineral water in a temple premise? It looks odd,Mritunjaya says.The Kamakhya Balak Prathamik Vidyalaya, which has 170 students on its rolls has also been registering low attendance. ``Most of the kids are ill. We have not been able to clean the toilets,'' says Pashupati Sahrma, a teacher.The KTTB meanwhile has purchased its own pumpset after the municipal corporation failed to respond to its requests. ``But the authorities have refused to use it, saying they cannot instal a pumpset purchased by another party for the corporation's water plant,'' said Adhikary.Left with no choice, temple authorities are now thinking of closing the temple for visitors. ``After all, you cannot ask the devotees to carry water too to the temple,'' Paran Chandra Sharma, the doloi said.
