 Early Times Report
JAMMU, Jan 20: Situated close to the Octroi outpost on the International Border (IB) in R S Pura sub-sector, 25 km or so from here, the 179-year-old Ram Temple is in shambles due to the apathy of the successive state governments.
It was constructed by Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1837, but it is virtually in ruins now-a-days. Its charm and aura is lost because of the obvious reasons, which are non-maintenance and government apathy. The temple is historical and is one among those which were constructed by the Maharaja after every eight kilometres. Due to its non-maintenance, the temple is fighting a struggle for its existence. Its walls and roof are in a state of disrepair. Even a cursory look at it from outside shows that it is in a very bad condition. The whole temple complex is in ruins because of the age and neglect. To develop Octroi Outpost as a tourist attraction on the pattern of Wagah Border in Punjab, the state government has done a lot of development work in its close vicinity, but no effort has been made to renovate the temple. To attract tourists, new attractive buildings, a reception centre and a restaurant have too come up, but the temple has so far remained unattended. The J&K Tourism Department has plans to take up more development activities in the area to make it look more attractive, according to official sources.
The J&K Dharmarth Trust, which looks after temples, has also raised an eatery there, but it too did not bother to take up the renovation work of Ram Temple. So, it is faced with the apathy of the government and the dharmarth trust.
A few months before his demise, Mufti Mohammad Syed had also visited the border as chief minister of the state and promised to develop it on the pattern of Wagah Border to attract tourists from different parts of the country but the temple's deteriorating condition shows that no one in the government is interested in preserving the historical religious places like the Ram Temple near Octroi Outpost.
In the BJP-PDP government too, the temple did not attract the attention of deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh and other BJP ministers. This was not expected from the BJP ministers, said locals. |
