After hundreds of trees were ruthlessly cut down by land mafias in Vrindavan, recently serious concerns are being raised about environmental conservation in the entire Braj region.
In recent years, a significant voice has been raised to draw the attention of both the state and central governments to the ecological crisis facing Braj Bhoomi, especially the holy towns of Mathura, Govardhan and Vrindavan. The region, revered by millions of Shri Krishna devotees, is now in a state of environmental emergency due to the destruction of forests, pollution of the Yamuna river, disappearance of holy kunds, grasslands, sacred mangroves and uncontrolled development of concrete structures.
The urgent question is: can Shri Krishna Bhoomi, spread over 84 kos i.e. about 150 km around Mathura, be saved from the spurious development that is turning this essential pilgrimage area into a tourist or picnic spot with all kinds of modern amenities?
Every day, thousands of pilgrims and tourists invade the Braj land. The region resounds with the holy chants of ‘Radhe Radhe’ and ‘Jai Shri Krishna’ amidst the growing fervor of devotion and bhakti. From Govardhan to Gokul on the other side of the Yamuna, the atmosphere remains quite vibrant as pilgrims throng to have a darshan of the deities.
Over the past few years, the Krishna legend with its emphasis on love and devotion has attracted millions of new followers, who lovingly endure all physical sufferings in the Braj region. Many complete the 21-km-long parikrama at Govardhan without any strain or pain, looking at the ubiquitous heaps of dirt and garbage, the dirty lanes of Vrindavan and the pitiable sight of being constantly harassed by hundreds of beggars.
With the Sri Krishna bhakti movement gaining popularity in the West and attracting hordes of whites to the holy city of Vrindavan, this trend will gain more momentum. Goswami Nandan Shrotriya of the more than 300-year-old Sri Mathuradhish Mandir in Agra says, “Humankind can survive only if it is nourished by love and compassion without discrimination of caste or status. The life of Sri Krishna is all about the best for society. One has to look beyond mere symbolism in all His leelas and the message is loud and clear.”
Of the many religious circuits developed by the state government, the Braj circuit remains the most popular but also the least developed. While land grabbers have grabbed every prime property in Mathura, Vrindavan and other smaller towns in the circuit, infrastructure facilities are being developed on a large scale.
The road from Chatikara to Vrindavan on the national highway is dotted with grand buildings of new age gurus and corporates as well as film stars. The parikrama route at Govardhan is being usurped by colonisers and realtors to build multi-storey buildings for wealthy pilgrims. An elderly Brajvasi lamented, “Due to ever-increasing human settlements and influx of outsiders, the sensitive ecology of the region is under threat. The dense forest that once surrounded the sacred Govardhan hill has disappeared and slowly we see colonies and land developers acquiring land to build residential accommodation for pilgrims and retirees.”
The same trend of rampant house building is eating into greenery and open spaces in Vrindavan too, which has higher-rise buildings and apartments than the district headquarters of Mathura. “Where is the place for the greenery and pollution-free environment for which Sri Krishna killed the poisonous Kaliya Naag in the Yamuna river?” Green activists in Mathura ask, every year, lakhs of people visit the Braj region to perform the parikrama of the sacred Govardhan hill, which is believed to have been lifted by Sri Krishna on his little finger to save the Brajvasis from Indra’s wrath. The hills of Barsana and Nandgaon bear the imprint of Radha and Krishna. But sadly, the district authorities of Mathura and Bharatpur are not alert to the large-scale demolition and interference by land mafias.
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