Why preserving and restoring Kunds of Braj-bhoomi is a struggle

Pilgrims on their way to Govardhan hill near Mathura, a revered pilgrim site associated with the life of Lord Krishna, may have noticed a beautifully maintained pond on the roadside, fenced off with pink stone railings, paved with stone embankments, with clear water and a manicured patch of green. This is Rinmochan Kund, where Krishna is said to have prayed to his ancestors.

As recently as five years ago, however, Rinmochan Kund was a very different sight – covered with garbage and with not a drop of water. That was when Braj Foundation, a non-profit working to restore the environmental and cultural heritage of Braj Bhoomi, the mythological birth place of Krishna, where he performed his 'leela', took it up for revival.

According to Gaurav Kumar Gola, project coordinator, Braj Foundation, the entire Braj area, measuring about 5,000 sq km, has about a thousand such kunds, each of which has a religious and mythological significance. A dip in the Rinmochan Kund, for instance, is said to take away the debts ('rins') of an individual. However, says Gola, 800 of these kunds are in a dry and dilapidated condition. The foundation has surveyed around 400 of these using modern technological tools such as satellite imagery, and work on desilting 46 of these has been started. Rinmochan is the fourth kund to be revived – the others being Goving Kund, Brahma Kund and Jai Kund.

It hasn't been an easy task. Work on the Rudra Kund was stopped for five years after a local leader, who had encroached on the kund, went to the Allahabad high court and got a stay order on the activities of the Foundation. 

Then there is the expense – the Rinmochan Kund restoration project cost Rs 2 crore, contributed by Mumbai-based Ajay Piramal Foundation. There is also the task of making sure that they don't dry up again, given that this area receives very little rainfall – only about 63 cm in a year. Besides, with the watershed areas destroyed by encroachment, there is the difficulty of reviving the natural acquifers, which supply water to the kunds.

At Rinmochan Kund, a necessary part of the restoration was to create a sewer line to divert the dirty water that flowed into it and create the high fences so people didn't throw solid waste choking it again. Besides, to ensure that water did not stagnate and remained in circulation – it helps in the infusion of oxygen and fresh air in the water – an innovative double level structure was created that also became a decorative element.