Photos

ON the Chandigarh-Manali road (National Highway 21) lies Bilaspur, a town on the banks of the Gobind Sagar.

Under this lake’s rippling waters, lie submerged numerous ancient temples of old Bilaspur. Ravaged by time and covered with silt, they have been under water since 1959-60, when famed American Harvey Sloom built Bhakra Dam. Ironically with this modern achievement, the ancient town of old Bilaspur along with its temples, palaces was submerged in 100 feet of water of Gobind Sagar — the largest man-made reservoir covering 169 sq. km. These temples are visible only when the water recedes for around six months in a year.

These temples are a silent witness to a rich bygone era. On studying these monuments, archaeologist H. Goetz traced Bilaspur’s history as far back to the post-Harshvardhana period when the Pratiharas held sway over the Shatadru (Sutlej).

Refer:www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010616/windows/main2.htm