Post News Network
Cuttack, Sept 18: Debigada ghat of Kathajodi river, well-known for immersion of clay idols during festivities, has occupied a special place in the hearts of the denizens of the silver city.
However, the district administration and the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) are yet to develop the requisite infrastructure at the ghat. Authorities have even failed to lay an all-weather road to Debigada and install lighting facilities in the locality.
The ghat has not only witnessed the religious-cultural extravaganza of the city for years but also seen political turmoil including the freedom struggle. According to folklore, people from across the city used to immerse clay idols of Debi Durga in Kathajodi river at the ghat. The ghat has been named as Debigada to signify its long association with the worship of the goddess.
During the monarchy and subsequent British regime, residents of the city and its nearby areas used to board boats at Debigada ghat to cross Kathajodi for visiting the Jagannath temple in Puri. The nearby area of the ghat was subsequently named as Purighat to describe it as a major transit point for Puri-bound people.
Many locals even today call Debigada ghat as Hatigada due to its association with the elephants and mahouts during the monarchy. Rulers of many kingdoms used to visit the Barabati fort of the Gajapati kings, located in the city. The royal mahouts of the visiting kings used to bathe the pachyderms at Debigada.
Some senior citizens of the city claim that Mahatma Gandhi had addressed a meeting of freedom fighters on the bank of Kathajodi near Debigada during his visit to Orissa in 1921.
The district administration and the CMC have been digging temporary pits at Debigada to facilitate immersion of clay idols for the last couple of years after receiving flak from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for large-scale water pollution during festivals.
CMC authorities had laid a foundation stone to construct a concrete gate near the ghat for beautification of the locality two years ago. However, the project was subsequently put on the backburner.
“Debigada is the part and parcel of the rich cultural heritage of the city. The district administration should beautify the locality by laying an all-weather road and installing lighting facilities,” said writer Nadiya Vihari Mohanty and senior citizen Bhikari Das. Mayor Meenakshee Behera, however, blamed the irrigation department for poor infrastructure at Debigada. “The irrigation department does not allow us to undertake any permanent construction at the ghat,” she said.
