Maa Kamakhya Corridor project: CSIR submits proposal for hydrological study

Guwahati, Oct 2: The State government on Tuesday told the Gauhati High Court that the joint team of Public Works Department (PWD), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-G) and Hyderabad-based Council of Scientific & Industrial Research-National Geophysical Research Institute (CSIR-NGRI) has conducted an inspection on the Nilachal hills in connection with the proposed Maa Kamakhya Access Corridor project.

The three-day inspection was conducted last month and on the basis of that various correspondences and negotiations are going on. A feasibility survey report and proposal for a hydrological study have been submitted by CSIR, which is being looked into by IIT-G. A clearer picture is likely in a month's time.

The geophysical and hydrological study is being necessitated following concerns that the Rs. 400-crore corridor project may disturb the eternal underground springs, which are sacred to the revered hill. Earlier, contractor L&T had called for a proposal from a private firm-Parsan Overseas Pvt Ltd- but it was found that the firm did not have the required expertise.

Meanwhile, the ASI also submitted an affidavit to the court today where it stated that the Kamakhya Temple has not been declared a monument of national importance under the Ancient Monuments and Archeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 and, therefore, the provisions of the Act are not applicable on the monument. However, the rock inscription of Nilachal Hill, known as ‘Duargarila Rock Inscription’, figures of Ganesha, Shiva lingas, four-handed Bhairabi, miniature Sikhara shrines, figures of Narakasur, two-handed Bhairabi, stone gateway, eight-handed dancing Bhairava engraved on rock at Kamakhya Hills have been declared as protected monuments.

Petitioner's counsel Upamanyu Hazarika, in a counter affidavit, contended that according to the distance criteria, the main Kamakhya Temple complex would clearly come within the prohibited zone in terms of the proximity of the stone gateway and the dancing Bhairava. He thus sought a clarification on the "apparent contradiction" in the pleas in the affidavit. Hazarika insisted that the construction in the temple complex could not proceed without the "express provision and sanction" of ASI.

-By Staff Reporter