Deoghar admin seeks abandoned land of Sadar hospital for Baba Dham expansion
BABA BAIDYANATH TEMPLE WAS DECLARED SECOND ICONIC TEMPLE PLACE AMONG 10 TEMPLES IN THE COUNTRY UNDER SWACHH BHARAT
DHANBAD : In a wake of swelling numbers of devotees to Baidynath Temple, popularly known as Baba Dham, Deoghar district administration has sent a proposal to state government for handing over Tower Chowkbased abandoned sadar hospital and TB hospital to Baidyanath Dham Shrine Area Development Authority for expansion of the iconic temple complex.
Deoghar deputy commissioner (DC) Rahul Kumar Sinha has in this regard written to secretary of government tourism art and cultural department.
Baba Baidyanath Temple was declared second iconic temple place among 10 temples in the country under Swachh Bharat Mission 2018 survey conducted by drinking water and sanitation department of the centre.
DC Rahul Kumar Sinha in his letter to government has said that lakhs of devotees from across the country and abroad daily visit during Shrawani Mela and other days to Baba Baidhyanth. The crowd would increase further once the upcoming All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) and the airport become operation in Deoghar.
Due to the unavailability of land near the temple, there is no scope for campus expansion as dense population resided in radius of around 500 metres to 1.5 km of temple.
“The temple administration in other states of the country provide several facilities to devotees. But despite having all resources, we can’t construct infrastructure as per requirement for devotees due to land scarcity. If abandoned buildings of sadar hospital and TB hospital are given to the Shrine Board, it would be easy to provide international standard facilities to visitors at Baba Dham,” said Sinha.
State Shrawani Mela of Deoghar registered record visit around 42 lakh devotees this year. Every Monday more than 2.5 lakh devotees offered Gangajal on Baba in which highest three lakh kawarias visited on second Sombari on July 29.
Both the hospitals have already been shifted to other places in the city. The abandoned campuses are only around a km away from temple. DC said, if health department hands over both the hospital land free of cost to Baba Baidyanath Dham, Basukinath Shrine Area Development Authority, expected and needed facilities could be restored for the devotees.
Senior official of Deoghar district Rohit Vidyarthi said that during month long Shrawani Mela, which ended on August 15, total 1,80,620 kawarias were provided treatment by Mela health team. If proposed abandoned buildings are handed over, permanent health services would be restored for devotees.