Excavation has begun after 46 years at a closed well located in the Ekta Police Outpost area under Sambhal Kotwali limits. Meanwhile, City Magistrate Sudhir Kumar visited the site and reviewed the situation in person. On Wednesday (November 26), the municipal council started work at the spot. In addition, a tree standing close to the well will also be cut, and therefore, the Forest Department has already been informed about it.
According to local residents, this well had come into focus during the riots of 1978. At the same time, a fresh survey has begun to identify illegal occupation along the Mahishmati River. As part of this process, municipal teams reached the site and started inspection work. Moreover, efforts are being made to find out how many locations have been encroached upon.
Afterwards, a detailed report will be prepared based on the survey findings, and then action will be taken to clear the river of illegal possession. Notably, the restoration of the Mahishmati River is planned at a cost of ₹15 crore. For this reason, the survey work has already started from Hallu Sarai.
₹12 Crore Allocation for Revival and Beautification of Tirths and Wells
Meanwhile, a complete action plan has been prepared for the renovation and beautification of religious sites and wells in Sambhal, which is known as a city of 68 holy places and 19 historic wells. In this regard, under government projects and the 15th Finance Commission, several crores of rupees will be spent on improving these places. Furthermore, the proposal sent to the government is expected to be approved soon. As soon as the budget is released, the municipal council will begin work. In the meantime, the tender process is already underway for some wells, and therefore, renovation work at several places has also begun earlier. Now, in line with government intentions, the municipality has finalised plans for the remaining sites as well.
For example, in Durga Colony, work worth ₹14.96 lakh will be done at the Panchagni Well. Likewise, ₹14.60 lakh will be spent on the Rasodak Well in Saraitareen. Similarly, in Kot Purvi locality, ₹18.20 lakh will be used to beautify the Rishikesh Well. Importantly, all these works will be carried out under the 15th Finance Commission, and as a result, the tendering process is currently in progress.
Besides this, under the government’s Vandan Scheme, several other wells will also be renovated. These include Vimal Well at the Shiva Temple in Kot Purvi, Krishna Well near Sahni Gate in Kot Garvi, Vishnu Well inside the temple, Akarmamochan Well opposite the Kotwali, Mrityunjay Well in Thair locality, and Bali Well and Saptasagar Well in Kot Purvi. Altogether, a proposal worth ₹1.23 crore has been prepared for these works.
Holy Sites to Get a New Look
At the same time, the appearance of major religious sites will also be improved through various projects. Earlier, the Tourism Department carried out work at the Suryakund site. Additionally, the municipal council had sent a ₹1.99 crore proposal under the lake and pond development scheme, out of which ₹50 lakh has been approved so far. Moreover, some work has already been completed at Shankh Madhav Tirth.
Now, under the Vandan Scheme, a proposal of ₹89 lakh has been prepared for further beautification. Meanwhile, work worth ₹1.18 crore is ongoing at Yamghat Tirth, and about 75% of the project has already been completed. In addition, under the same scheme, works worth ₹74 lakh at Pap Mochan Tirth, ₹1.15 crore at Mrityunjay Tirth, and ₹2.69 crore at Matsyodari, Bhadrakshram and Annatsagar Tirth will be taken up.
Furthermore, under the Global Nagarodaya Scheme, ₹1.28 crore has been proposed for the beautification of Bhagirathi Tirth. Consequently, all these proposals have been sent to the government, and approval is expected soon.
On the other hand, the municipality has already completed the beautification of Chaturmukh Well in Alam Sarai locality with funds from the State Finance Commission. In this project, ₹20.56 lakh was spent. As a result, after 100% completion, the well now looks completely different.
Finally, Executive Officer of Sambhal Nagar Palika, Dr Manibhushan Tiwari, said that beautification work of religious sites and wells is either underway or in the planning stage. He further added that approval of the proposals sent to the government is expected shortly, after which the remaining work will begin. Likewise, he also confirmed that the survey to identify encroachments along the Mahishmati River has already been started.
