Team Herald
SANGUEM: The locals of Kurdi-Wadem have found an ancient idol of Lord Ganesh carved on a basalt stone in the waters of Selaulim Reservoir, which the villagers claim to be over 100 years old.
The idol was found by a group of villagers led by Sudhakar Perni a couple of days back when they were on their way to the village to make preparations for the annual celebration of Someshwar Devasthan which is scheduled on May 21. The villagers informed that the locals including the elders have no idea of there being a temple dedicated to Lord Ganesh in the village.
Seventy-five-year-old resident Sadanand Kurdikar feigned ignorance of there being a temple dedicated to Lord Ganesh in the village.
Kurdikar denied having any knowledge of his ancestors ever informing him or talking among themselves on the existence the temple dedicated to Lord Ganesh in the village.
The idol was located around 500 metres away from Someshwar temple and around 15 metres from the village road. However, on account of overgrown bushes and trees, the idol could not be seen from the main road.
The idol seems to have surfaced in the open after constant washing of the soil over the past several years. During monsoon, the idol gets submerged into Selaulim waters. But with passage of time and with the constant washing of sand, the idol and the plinth area of the temple is noticeable in the open.
The villagers claim that the idol must have been underground and could be 100 years old as nobody in the village has any idea of existence of temple devoted to Lord Ganesh in the village.
While highlighting the fact that it is for the first time that the villagers have come across the Lord Ganesh idol in the Selaulim waters, a villager Manoday Phadte urged the officials of the Archaeological Survey of India to conduct a detail study on the Lord Ganesh idol found in the remote Kurdi village of Sanguem Taluka.
Phadte claimed that the existence of temple dedicated to Lord Ganesh in the village seems a reality considering the fact that the idol is surrounded by a masonry foundation on all sides. Phadte opined that the overall structure, which houses the idol of Lord Ganesh could have been demolished over the years, leaving only the foundation and the idol intact.
Meanwhile, the villagers have urged the ASI authorities to move the Lord Ganesh idol to a safer place on account of the fast approaching monsoons. In the event of the idol being left at the place, it will soon submerged and will be difficult to conduct a detail study into the matter.
