• Historical Basistha temple loses its charm
• Visitors mar the beautiful location with litter and filth
• Locals use the stream to bathe, wash clothes and excrete
• People have picnics and throw litter into the stream
• Locals urge visitors to keep temple premises clean
One of the most iconic mythological locations of Assam and popular picnic spot of the past, Basistha temple is now losing its charm.
Basistha, which was once praised by all for its beautiful settings, has now been degraded by the public.
Tourists from all over the world visit the historical sight not just for religious reasons but also for its scenic beauty. Though they glorify the temple, tourists have failed to maintain the beauty of the place and have turned it into a garbage spot.
A stream which originates from the hills of Meghalaya flows through the temple premises. This has attracted tourists not just from India but from foreign countries as well. But today, this scenic backdrop is marred with litter and filth.
Due to lack of water supply in the area, locals use the stream to bathe, wash clothes and also for excretory purposes. Locals claim that people who come to the temple for picnics, consume alcohol and throw the bottles in the stream.
"We built wells on our own. Around 4-5 houses are benefitting from it. There is no supply of water here. We either use the stream water or fetch water from the nearby well for our daily needs," said Junu Das, a local resident.
She said that there is a well bore in their locality but the water is only used by the temple and they do not get any water from that well.
“Aged men have taken the initiative to keep the premises clean. If tourists would have understood the value of the place then they would not have waited for someone else to do the job,” said Bipul Deka, a local vendor.
“There are a number of educated youths in our country today but they still lack this basic sense. It is sad to see such things happening in front of our eyes,” Deka added.
The stream which once carried fresh water now carries wafer packets, alcohol bottles, plastic bottles, human excreta etc.
Over the years, several tourist spots have lost their essence due to the lack of civic sense of the visitors. People have started mistreating these scenic places by littering.
"We clean the temple premises every once a week but the public keeps littering. They come for picnics and throw their litter all over the place instead of using the litter bins. It will be better if they use the bins. They even excrete in the river," said a temple staff.
NGOs have also launched drives earlier to keep the temple premises clean and plastic-free.
Located a few kilometres to the south of Guwahati, the temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
The locals urge tourists to keep the temple premises clean and maintain the beauty of the place.
The Basistha ashram dates back to Vedic Times. Legend has it that the ashram was founded by the great saint Basistha, also known as "Vasishtha.”
It is located on the outskirts of Garbhanga reserve forest which is home to ample number of elephants.
In a telephonic conversation with Chandan Mahanta, IIT professor, Centre for the Environment, he said, “All our temples witness large footfall every day and the number is growing as the population rises. Devotees bring along various
materials relating to worship and also other materials like plastic containers and bottles. That is creating a problem of solid waste around the temples and it is getting unmanageable since we do not have a systematic way of handling them.”
“There is a stream flowing by which earlier used to be quite pristine but now it is receiving both solid and liquid waste, making the water quality unacceptable,” Mahanta added.
Mahanta talked about the temple’s unhealthy surroundings and said that it needs serious attention. He also said that there should be a standard guideline and protocol for managing waste in the temple premises.
“Essentially this waste management protocol for the temple should be linked to a larger environmental governance system and it should be taken very seriously. The State Pollution Control Board and Department of Environment Forest should bring temples under the ambit of environmental monitoring irrespective of their religious character,” Mahanta elaborated.