CHAKWAL: As many as 84 Hindu pilgrims from India arrived at Katas Raj on Saturday.

The Indian pilgrims were visibly upset when they saw the dried pond.

Hindus visited the place to perform Ashnan (bath), in the pond at Katas Raj as part of their rituals.

The present level of water at the pond is a result of the authorities acting against nearby cement plants and forcing them to turn off their tubewells, a senior official of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) said.

A three-judge bench, headed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, during a hearing on a suo motu notice on Thursday, issued notices to cement plants.

The suo motu notice was taken on the basis of media reports that the Katas Raj pond was drying out due to massive groundwater depletion by nearby cement factories.

The ETPB has installed a camp in the centre of the pond so that the pilgrims can perform their rituals.

A reception would also be held in honour of the pilgrims today (Sunday) at Katas Raj Reception Hall.

Evacuee Trust Property Board Chairman Siddiqul Farooq visited Katas Raj on Saturday evening and reviewed arrangements for the pilgrims.

Foolproof security arrangements have been made for the pilgrims who would leave Katas Raj on Dec 4.

“As many as 700 police personnel have been deployed for security of the pilgrims,” a police official told Dawn.

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2017