Just a week before Janmashtami, the National Green Tribunal has indicted Mathura district administration for turning the Goverdhan Parikrama Marg into a garbage dumping ground causing hardships to pilgrims visiting the holy site.
In a letter to the Mathura District Magistrate, B Chandrakala, the NGT has asked the administration to chalk out plans for proper waste and garbage disposal from the 21-km-long pilgrimage route around Govardhan hill and in the nearby village.“The basic question is why this religious place has been turned into a garbage dumping ground,” the NGT asks. The spot lies within the Taj Trapezium Zone, which covers an 80-km radius around the Taj Mahal. Taking cognizance of the writ filed by members of ‘Giriraj Parwat Sanrakshan Sansthan’, the NGT bench head by Justice Swatantra Kumar asked the Mathura district administration to ensure that devotees get clean environment for religious activities at the spot and said the tribunal would send a team to visit the spot within a week to check the progress.
“We are appalled to see the pathetic condition of this holy city. It seems the Municipal Board does not exist here any more. How pilgrims visit this city is any body’s guess,” the NGT said in its letter.Sant Anand Das, one of the petitioners, said the court has ordered the Mathura administration to launch a plantation drive and ensure proper cleanliness in the vicinity of the mountain.
‘ UP Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav had in 2012 approved a mega project of Rs 50 crore for improving tourist and pilgrim facilities in Mathura-Vrindavan-Govardhan. During his visit to Mathura he had then said that all the infrastructure required for this purpose should be arranged from the approved funds. However, there has been no visible change at the spots, he said.
Tourists and devotees coming to Mathura are greeted with choked drains and piles of garbage in most parts of the city. The sacred spots in Mathura-Vrindavan-Govardhan attract scores of pilgrims and tourists from all over the world. The maximum rush is witnessed during festivals like Janmashtami and Holi. Over 1 crore devotees visit Govardhan on the occasion of Gurupurnima. Tourists and tour operators have been complaining of the pathetic civic conditions in the city for a long time, but both the local administration and the state tourism department have failed to address their woes.