National heritage is in danger of becoming history

It is 800 years old, and it is a national monument. But a look at the purathana kola now leaves an ache in the heart. The tank is crumbling at alarmingly, allegedly because of its neglect by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

The ASI, which calls it just ‘ancient tank’ (prachin talab in Hindi), is responsible for the maintenance of the tank built by Jain chieftains in the 12th century. The tank is locally known as Bhattarakere.

The tank, on the Moodabidri-Hosmar road, about 42 km from Mangalore next to the Ishidis (mausoleums of Jain Thirthankaras), had been in existence since the 12 century AD, when the rare Jain manuscripts called the Dhavala texts were discovered, oral historian Amruth Malla said. 

The Bhattarakere was earlier known as ‘Bhattaraka Kere’ (Bhattarakas are the chiefs of the Jain monastries) and the tank was meant for use by the Bhattarakas only.

Now, three sides of the tank have collapsed and the fourth side is also standing precariously.

The Bhattarakere, built on an acre of land, used to hold water perennially, but now, due to silt formation, it dries up by the end of January.

The Jain community said the ASI’s neglect was to be blamed for the tank’s dismal condition. “In the last three years, many requests have been made to the ASI and the government to restore the tank, but there has been no response from either,” Mahaveer Jain, a local community leader, said. “If it is not repaired before the monsoons in June, rest of the tank’s walls will collapse. The national monument will then be confined to the annals of history.”

“It is a national monument and it should get the attention it deserves from the ASI,” HH Charukirthi Bhattaraka Panditacharyavarya, a scholar of the Dhavala texts and swamiji of the Jain Math at Moodabidri, said.