Barasat, 1st May: The ecologists expressed shock over a recent news of deaths of a few thousands of bats due to hot weather condition in Asansol in West Bengal, while on the other thousands of such flying mammals were saved by the inhabitants of a remote village Patsabdalpur in North 24 Parganas by as long as food and water often.
A few thousands of bats used to live on an old banyan tree and a peepul tree at the centre of the village where a temple of Lord Shiva in the name of ‘Panchananda’ exists since long back.
According to the veteran priest of the village temple, Narayan Mukherjee, it dates back to the regime of Maharaja Krishna Chandra of Nadia, the temple was established here at Badur Tala (named after bats, which in Bengali called-Badur) by the Maharaj who also used to worship Lord Panchananda, an incarnation of Lord Shiva.
The land earlier belonged to the Maharaja.
And it was believed by the villagers of Patsabdalpur that the bats had been living here for a few hundreds years.
Undoubtedly some superstitions work amongst the locales irrespective religion, casts and creed that the bats are sign of prosperity of the people of this village.
Badurtala has become a holy place where people assemble each year on the 13th Baishakh (first month of Bengali calendar) for observing the foundation day of the Panchananda temple. Special pujas are offered by the attending villagers.