A note about Ramkund temple in the old city, Srinagar

kshastry

Guys, while I was strolling through the old city (in Srinagar), I found a temple like structure amidst a market area. I got interested and wanted to explore further. This temple is situated near 'Zaina Kadal' bridge. One can see the dome of the temple from the wooden bridge. Its a very ordinary structure typical of North Indian styled temples. When I went there, the temple door was locked, and perhaps from a long time. I found out that keys were in the possession of a neighbor. I got the doors opened. It was a sad site. The place was dirty and smelt of pigeon shit. The pooja has got stopped long back (~20 years). This temple was built by Dogra kings in the honor of lord Rama about 300-400 years back (I may be wrong on the years). During the peak of insurgency, it was a favorite target of terrorists. The statues have been broken. Grenades have been lobbed and bullets fired at.

What saddened me most was the sheer neglect of the authorities. There seem to be a separate governmental department to take care of minority worshipping places. They seem to have great deal of money too. They could have easily got it cleaned up and tried restoring it. It seem to have some historic significance. There are no regular worshippers left in the area who could have taken care of it.

Mr.Mohammed Sidiq who runs a turmeric factory adjacent to temple has the keys to this temple. I recommend that you visit this place if you happen to visit the old Srinagar. I felt this temple is in the danger of being encroached as I observed some structure already built inside the compound.

Ofcourse there could be many such temples/mosques/churches in India which are in even worser conditions. I just wanted to pass the information in the hope that it would make some impact, atleast in this case.