A dried up Baitarani river has turned a major worry among local residents and religious minded people here as the river has scant water for offering of Pinda (Shraddha). The mass Pinda Daan was organised on Sunday.
On the occasion, a large number of people from Jajpur and across the State had converged on the bank of river at the famous Dasaswamedha Ghat to perform Shraadh, a ritual for the dead family members for the salvation of their souls.
As per a popular belief, performing Shraadh on the Dasaswamedha Ghat on the bank of Baitarani river paves way for the salvation of souls of the dead family members.
However, due to scarce water in the river Baitarni, the devotees faced a lot of problems while performing the ritual, said Ramesh Mishra from Balichandrapur, who had come along with his family members to perform the rites for his ancestors.
Rampant industrialization and the unregulated use of water by the riverside industries are the main reason behind the river pollution and water shortages in Baitarani, a tributary of the river Brahmani.
Big industrial houses in Kalinganagar and its nearby areas have been illegally taking water from the river as a result of which the river is left with scant water during the summer, said Prabhuranjan Satpathy of Jajpur.
Hindus believe in reincarnation or in the cycle of birth. They believe that body changes with every birth but the soul remains the same.
The Hindu philosophy says that this cycle can be broken and soul can be put to rest forever by performing Pinda Daan or Shraddha, said Das, a priest.