Following heavy rains in Ranchi, erosion of soil at various places could be easily witnessed at the ancient hill of Pahari Mandir, increasing possibilities of untoward incident during Shravani Mela, when thousands of pilgrims throng at the hillock every day to offer jalabhishek to lord Shiva. Though, the office bearers of Pahari Mandir Vikas Samiti claimed that adequate measures are being taken in this regard, experts warned that no construction work should be done here to prevent land slide in the area.
“We are quite aware of the problem......and have asked our people to put a wall to prevent further erosion of soil at some selected points. The matter is not as serious as is being claimed in the media reports. All precautions will be taken during Shravani Mela,” said Public Relation Officer of Pahari Mandir Vikas Samiti Mukesh Agrawal. The soil kept near the pole which came out during digging the base of the pole has gone down during heavy rains, he added.
Geological experts on the other hand, claimed that the matter was really serious as any further erosion could result into heavy landslide of the hillock. The hillock according to the experts, comprise of Khondalite rocks, supposed to very weak which get weathered up after a particular point of time.
“I had submitted a report to the RRDA long back in the year 2014 requesting it to preserve the hillock as the rocks of the hillock have been converted completely into soil and remaining ones have become weathered which is as good as soil,” said Geologist Nitish Priyadarshi.
He further claimed that construction of the new temple building is being undertaken for the last several months which has lead to the unrest of the rocks and has weakened the rock from inside posing a threat on the hillock itself.
“Unless the hillock is not preserved, either through barricading or by putting wire mesh around it, the chances of landslide will always remain there,” added the Geologist.
Tampering of Parhari Mandir is being done for the last two-three years in the name of its beautification which has resulted into unrest. Construction work carried out during the installation of the largest tricolour has also done a lot of damages to the hillock.
“A crater has also been created near the base of the largest Tricolour which may pose a threat on its pole posing a threat on the life and property of the people living in the nearby localities,” Priyadarshi said.