Dear Editor,
The pond being dismantled without the pre knowledge of its lay out and the purpose it was constructed for. The natives feel concerned regarding its renovation and reconstruction. It has been the practice of the monarchs of every state in the past to create a water channel, called a moat, around the royal palaces or the forts in order to check the entry of the spies or aggressors of the hostile states. Likewise the kings of the Pal dynasty provided a water channel before the entrance of the palaces and forts. Later on this water channel was given the shape of a pond by the royal family in sixteenth centaury. The pond was designed in such a way which provided the approach to the pond for all the all the casts and for the animals also. There was a separate walled compartment created in the pond which was used as bath rooms by the members of the royal family. There was a special well, which is still visible, above the water level of the pond where the water in the well was regulated by the capillarity action. The ruinous pond has not lost its glory and grandeur even after four centuries it was constructed. Due to the non maintenance the pond was converted into a stinking pool with the water grass rendering it of no utility. The local bodies of the UT prepared the DPR and sanctioned an amount to the tune of Rs 1 crore and ninety two lakh. Despite the amount being too meager to renovate the pond the work on the pond is being carried out in an haphazard manner where all the original walls of the heritage walls are being replaced by the concrete one which has defaced the historical shape of the pond. Moreover there is no provision for the concrete floor and it is the apprehension that the pond will again become marshy and unusable by the natives. There is neither any provision mentioned in the DPR for its filling and emptying at the time of need. It is believed that whole amount 1.92 crore will fall short during the useless replacement of the old stone bricked walls by the concrete one. The archeological and the local bodies department must intervene lest the whole grant goes waste as in the past.
Shiv Kumar Padha,
Basohli.