Faced with what they see as steady degeneration of an
ancient land, children of this Hindu holy town, facing a plethora of
problems relating to ecology, culture and heritage, will review, discuss
and draw up a unique urban master plan at a two-day interactive
session-cum-workshop that will then be submitted to the state government
for implementation, an organizer said.
"We want to reverse the trend. So far we have been used to
bureaucrats and politicians foisting on us their predilections and
biased ideas. The time has come to get people involved in planning their
future according to their vision," Jagan Nath Poddar, convener of NGO
Friends of Vrindavan, told IANS.
"In recent years, "we have witnessed the rapid degradation of
Vrindavan's ecology, culture and heritage. We can't remain mute
spectators to the degeneration of our town, which has become an
international destination for spirituality," Poddar added.
He said Vrindavan's children will now give their valuable suggestions
to the government by drafting a comprehensive and technically viable
master plan that will envisage the town's overall development without
disturbing its natural and man-made heritage.
The plan will also be sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Vrindavan's civil society will get actively involved in this
exercise. "Sri Krishna loved children. They should now get an
opportunity to have their say," RTI activist Madhu Mangal Shukla told
IANS.
To be held at the Vrindavan Public School, Dhaurera, children from
Samvid Gurukulam, Bhaktivedanta Gurukula and International School and
the Vrindavan Public School will participate in this unique exercise.
Vrindavan's unique heritage status as the centre of Sri Krishna
bhakti is under threat as the state government plans its merger with
Mathura to upgrade the local body to a municipal corporation. The move
has been opposed by the locals as they want Vrindavan's special status
preserved.
"The merger has been a sensitive issue and Vrindavan's residents are
totally opposed to this kind of hasty approach that ignores the reality
and sort of bulldozes the valid objections of the locals," Acharya Sri
Vatsa Swamy, a highly respected and vocal champion of Vrindavan's
heritage, told IANS.
"Already the Yamuna river has been killed along with its heritage
ghats. The dense forests have disappeared and the old havelis and
temples are under threat," he said.
So thoughtless has been the so-called urbanisation of Vrindavan that
heritage ghats on the river front have been pushed back and a road
constructed to obscure the panaromic view.
"Now, the mandarins in the MVDA (Mathura-Vrindavan Development
Authority) have begun construction of a bridge right in the centre of
the river. "Funnily it is not a bridge to cross the river but runs
parallel to the river. Luckily judicial intervention has, for the time
being, stalled its construction, but for how long?" Shukla wondered.
Sri Krishna bhaktas from all over the world visit Vrindavan for its
spiritual ambience and bhakti. But now efforts are on to make it a
tourist spot for the touch-and-go type pilgrims. Once a quiet town, full
of greenery, holy ponds and ghats along the river, Vrindavan is
increasingly under pressure from the urbanisation lobby.
The stretch from the Chatikara crossing to the main town has a row of
new colonies. The tallest Sri Krishna temple, along with plush
bungalows and deluxe flats, a helipad and sprawling parking slots for
thousands of cars that keep invading the serene ambience of the holy
town, are on the cards.
"But whether all these facilities put together will rekindle the joy
of Sri Krishna bhakti, spiritualise the dham, preserve the unique
heritage of the land and clean up the foul air around, are huge
questions that planners should ask themselves," Sri Krishna bhakt
Jagdanand Das, editor of www.vrindavantoday.org, told IANS.
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