Illegal quarrying may damage temples at Pajaka

By Ganesh Prabhu

UDUPI, JUNE 29: Pajaka Kshetra, birthplace of Sri Madhwacharya, who propounded the Dwaita philosophy, is once again embroiled in controversy triggered by illegal quarrying in the hills surrounding the kshetra. The district administration realised that the situation was grave only when Sri Vishwesha Theertha Swamiji of Paryaya Sri Pejawar Math threatened to go on a fast on Tuesday if quarrying was not stopped.

It is said that quarrying has been going on in Pajaka for the past seven or eight years. In 1997, the State Government issued a notification banning quarrying in lands coming under survey numbers 93, 101, 201, 202 and 203 at Kurkalu village, and survey numbers 193, 313 and 315 at Belle village following protests by the swamiji. The lease deeds of the contractors were also cancelled.

Illegal quarrying started here about a month ago on one side of the hillock, which does not face the road. The authorities of the Sri Madhwacharya Temple at Pajaka came to know of this about a week ago and reported it to the swamiji.

It appears strange that the Government does not have any mechanism to monitor the activities of the contractors in the area. Even a board stating that quarrying is banned in the notified land has not been erected. No fencing has also been made in the area.

The Assistant Commissioner and the Superintendent of Police, who inspected the spot on Wednesday, found that quarrying was going on in the land coming under survey number 202. This contradicted the claim of the district administration that no such activity was going on there. The Shirva police seized a crane from there on a complaint by the Department of Mines and Geology on Wednesday. The district administration then posted three policemen there the same day.

When this correspondent visited the area on Thursday, it was clear that quarrying had taken place in the area. The policemen posted there told The Hindu that they were not aware of the borders of the notified area. They are not provided shelter either.

Quarrying is a sensitive matter here as religious sentiments are involved. Dynamite explosions can damage the nearly 700-year-old Sri Anantapadmanabha Temple and the Sri Madhwacharya Temple. It is feared that quarrying will erase the footprints of Madhwacharya believed to be found on the rocks of the hills. Explosions also cause sound pollution, and hinder the chanting of vedic hymns and study of the puranas and religious texts by students.

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Section  : Southern States
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