Stone pillars, lingas found in Godavari bed

Nizamabad: Historical pillars surfaced in the Godavari as the river dried up at Basar on the border of Nizamabad and Nirmal districts. Visitors are surprised to see these as well as lingams scattered on the river bed.

The Godavari enters Telangana state from Maharashtra at Kandakurthi of Renjal mandal in Nizamabad district. Kandakurthi is at the confluence of the Godavari and its tributaries the Manjeera and Haridra. After Kandakurthi, the river reaches the temple town of Basar where devotees take a holy dip at the abode of Goddess Saraswati.

The Sriramsagar project in Nizamabad district and Babli project at Dharmabad in Maharashtra state have restricted water flow in the river. As a result, the Godavari at the bathing ghats in Basar wears a deserted look. Devotees are unable to take a holy dip and stagnant water in some places is used by them for sprinkling.

In this context, historical pillars with carvings of animals, men and women are attracting visitors at Basar. Whether these were intentionally thrown in the river or to protect them from invaders in the past is not known. These art pieces lie among the boulders in the river.

Speaking to this newspaper, Mr P. Srinivas, teaching faculty in a institution in Hyderabad, said that different kind of lingams were seen on the river bed. He said, “We visited Basar to perform aksharabhyasam for our grandson. As usual, we visited the bathing ghats and saw these pieces. Temple authorities should take the initiative in this regard,” he said.

When this newspaper tried to contact Basar temple executive officer Sandhya Rani over the phone regarding the pillars, she did not respond to the phone calls.

Retired endowments department superintendent Giridhar said that the pillars, lingams and panavattams might have installed beside the river in the past. They surface when the Godavari dries up, he said.