Inauguration of India’s Longest Rubber Dam

Every year lakhs of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain devotees visit Gaya, the land of religious and mythological legends, the holy land of knowledge and salvation, and a tourist important city. A large number of them are of those devotees, who come for Pind Daan, bath and tarpan with the wish of salvation of their ancestors.

The flow of surface water in Mokshadayini Phalgu river near the world famous Vishnupad temple was negligible during the rest of the days except some part of the rains, causing a lot of trouble to the devotees coming from the country and abroad. For its solution, the Water Resources Department has completed the construction of Bihar’s first rubber dam a year before the scheduled time, on the instructions of Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Nitish Kumar to provide water throughout the year in the Falgu river near Vishnupad temple.

The foundation stone of this ambitious scheme was laid on 23 September 2020 by Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Nitish Kumar. The target was to complete the scheme by October 2023. But later the Chief Minister had directed to complete it before the Pitrupaksha Mela 2022.

According to mythology, Lord Shri Ram himself had come for Pind Daan at “Gaya ji” for the salvation of his father King Dasharatha. It is said that during this period the flow of surface water in Falgu became negligible due to the curse given by Mata Sita. But now with the construction of rubber dam, water will be available in the Falgu river near Vishnupad temple throughout the year.

It is worth noting that for the first time in Bihar, instead of the traditional country dam, a rubber dam based on modern technology has been constructed, which will not have any adverse effect on the environment. The entire design of the scheme was prepared keeping in mind the advice given by the experts of IIT Roorkee after site inspection. Under the scheme, a 411 m long, 95.5 m wide and 3 m high rubber dam has been constructed on the left bank of the river Falgu in the 300 m low flow of the temple. In this, water harvesting has been done by stopping the surface and sub surface water flow of Falgu river and borewell has been established for timely replacement of water. To stop the flow of surface water, sheet pile of length 1031 meters and diaphragm wall of 300 meters has been provided.

Along with this, 411 meters long steel bridge has been constructed for the devotees to walk on the other side of the river towards Sitakund situated on the right bank and one on the left bank of Phalgu and two ghats on the right bank side. It is believed about the holy Sitakund that Mata Sita had donated Pind Daan here for her late father-in-law Dashrath ji. Devotees visiting Vishnupad temple go to see the holy Sitakund. The construction of steel bridge has made it easy to reach Sitakund. Various development works including rubber dam, steel bridge and ghat constructed by the Water Resources Department will provide facilities to the devotees as well as become the center of attraction for the tourists.

According to mythological beliefs, performing Pind Daan and Tarpan on the banks of the river Falgu in Gaya city on the occasion of Pitru Paksha brings salvation to the ancestors. Due to this belief, lakhs of devotees from every corner of the country and the world come to the city to perform Pind Daan every year. This time Pitrupaksha Mela is scheduled to be organized from 9th September to 25th September. The state government is determined to make this ritual a success.

Under the able leadership of Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Nitish Kumar, India’s longest rubber dam has been constructed near Vishnupad temple on the left embankment of river Falgu, where there is a plan to conserve 3 meters of water throughout the year. This will be inaugurated on 8th September 2022 by Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Nitish Kumar.

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