Purmandal & Utterbehni Restoration

For decades, two of Jammu division's most venerable religious complexes have stood as silent witnesses to official apathy. Purmandal, cradled by the sacred Devikariver, and its companion site, Utterbehni, have watched pilgrims come and go while their own fabric quietened into ruin. That this neglect is finally being addressed - with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha laying foundation stones for works worth Rs 7.15 crore at Purmandal and Rs 6.85 crore at Utterbehni, a combined outlay of nearly Rs 14 crore - deserves to be welcomed without reservation, even as one asks why it has taken this long.

What makes these sites remarkable is precisely what makes them vulnerable. This is not modern construction with concrete lintels and cemented courtyards. Purmandal and Utterbehni are clusters of temples, Vedic pathshalas and havankunds built in an older idiom altogether - structures of wooden log framing, mud-packed roofs, ancient wells and open mud courtyards, the kind of vernacular sacred architecture that has all but vanished elsewhere. Decades of neglect have taken their toll on this fragile fabric, and yet even in their dilapidated state, a visitor walking through these complexes can still sense something of their old grandeur, an aura that mere ruin has not managed to erase. These were once spoken of as second only to Kashi in sanctity, and Purmandal still carries the name ChhotiKashi - a title that speaks to a spiritual stature the site's physical condition has long failed to reflect.

Efforts for restoration have surfaced periodically over the years, each raising hope before fading into the background. The last significant push came in 2019, when the Union Tourism Minister visited the site, announced plans for renovation, and directed the Jammu Tourism Department to prepare a detailed project report-that DPR, submitted under the PRASHAD scheme, envisaged works worth some Rs 50 crore. What happened to that proposal afterwards remains a mystery-it never translated into sanctioned central funding, disappearing into the familiar bureaucratic gap between announcement and execution. Against that backdrop, the current Rs 14 croreproject, considerably smaller than the 2019 figure, should be read not as a disappointment but as a pragmatic and commendable first step. Something has finally begun to move after years of stalled intent. With the LG administration directly monitoring the work, there is reason to hope that further funds can be mobilised as the project progresses and its needs become clearer on the ground.

If there is one caution worth sounding loudly at this stage, it is about method. Restoration of sites such as these must not repeat the mistakes of the past, where periodic ordinary whitewashing did more harm than the decades of neglect it was meant to counter. Particular care must be taken to protect and properly restore the wall and roof paintings that survive within these complexes, work that should be entrusted only to certified, trained conservation professionals rather than routine contractors. The heritage of this vintage, built in perishable materials and carrying painted surfaces of real antiquity, punishes haste and carelessness in equal measure; it rewards only patience and expertise.

Achieve the restoration right, and both sites could prove transformative for their respective regions. Properly restored and connected by improved roads to the pilgrim circuits already thriving around Vaishno Devi, Shiv Khori and Amarnath, these sites could draw visitors who currently pass Samba district by without a second thought. The economic case follows naturally from the cultural one: better infrastructure means more footfall, and more footfall means livelihoods for homestay owners, artisans, transporters and small traders in a district that could use precisely this kind of boost. The parallel revival of the ancient pathshalas in the area only strengthens this trajectory.

A significant initial step has now been accomplished. The months ahead, as restoration and development work proceeds in earnest, will determine how faithfully these ancient sites are brought back to life. If the Administration holds firm on quality and craftsmanship, this project could well become another cherished chapter in the restoration and revival of Jammu and Kashmir's sacred heritage - proof that even after decades of neglect, it is not too late to reconnect a place with the grandeur it once possessed.