Plan to divert Manikaran ‘holy water’ in Himachal Pradesh stirs row

KULLU: A proposal to transfer water from the natural hot water springs at Manikaran - a site of pilgrimage for both Hindus and Sikhs - to the nearby popular tourist destination of Kasol, 4km away, in Parvati Valley of Kullu district has upset the locals. Residents have threatened mass agitation if the plan to "use the holy water for commercial purposes" is not withdrawn.

It was proposed at the recent meeting of the Special Area Development Authority that a new nature park would be built in Kasol, having 'jacuzzi hot baths', water for which would be brought from Manikaran through a network of pipes.

Enraged by the proposal, Manikaran residents met Kullu deputy commissioner Torul S Ravish and sent a memorandum to the CM, demanding scrapping of the plan. "Manikaran is a site of pilgrimage, and no one should be allowed to misuse the water. If govt wants to build hot baths, then they should do it in Manikaran itself," said Narender Kumar, a local. He added that even the deities were against transferring water from Manikaran to Kasol.

Opposing the project, local resident Shailender Sharma said, "Imposition of SADA in Manikaran has led to zero development, and now they want to take away our water... we would not let them do so." The proposal has also sparked a war of words among local politicians. BJP's Narotam Thakur accused Kullu's Cong MLA Sundar Singh Thakur of having "vested interest" in the project. "It's a bad idea to transfer the holy water of Manikaran, which is a globally famous religious site. Neither the people of Manikaran want the water to be diverted nor the people of Kasol. It's just the local MLA...," he added.

Last week, former MP Maheshwar Singh had publicly voiced opposition to the proposal, saying that the water from a sacred site like Manikaran should not be used for commercial purposes as "the holy water of Manikaran is used even by the local deities". Responding to the allegations, Kullu MLA Sunder Singh Thakur had last week said, "Whenever we have talked about development, some people in Kullu have opposed it, making religion an excuse. They opposed projects from the ski village to even paragliding in Dhalpur, Kullu. But no one will be allowed to thwart the development process on the pretext of religion."


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