Delhi PWD demolishes temple, mazar in Bhajanpura; Atishi retweets letter to L-G

A mazar and a Hanuman temple were removed by the Public Works Department (PWD) from the main road in New Delhi’s Bhajanpura as an anti-encroachment drive on early Sunday morning amid heavy police deployment – to prevent any untoward incident – after a meeting of the Delhi Religious Committee, the police said.

“The decision to remove both the structures (temple and mazar) from Bhajanpura Chowk was taken during a meeting of the Delhi Religious Committee because the road has to be widened as construction of Saharanpur Highway is underway. Everything was done peacefully,” Joy N Tirkey, North East DCP, told reporters.

Seelampur sub divisional magistrate Sharat Kumar the decision was approved by the religious committee and following the orders of lieutenant governor VK Saxena, the demoliti

on drive was carried out. “It was done peacefully and there was no problem”, Kumar said.

Reacting to the development, Delhi minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Atishi requested the L-G not to demolish temples and other religious places in the national capital.

“Mr. LG: I had written a letter to you a few days back requesting you to take back your decision to demolish temples and other religious places in Delhi. But today again on your orders a temple has been demolished in Bhajanpura. I request that temples and other religious places not be demolished in Delhi. People’s faith is attached to these,” Atishi tweeted in Hindi.

Scores of residents in east Delhi’s Mandawali protested and got into confrontations with officials on Thursday after the Public Works Department (PWD) came to the spot with a bulldozer to raze a railing around a Shani temple that encroached upon a pavement, leading to tense moments before paramilitary reinfocements were called.

A letter to the lieutenant governor, Atishi had alleged that she learnt from the PWD that the L-G issued the order to demolish 14 religious structures. “The officers have told me that the then home minister Manish Sisodia in February 2023 had opposed the demolition proposal and suggested that necessary changes should be made in the projects map. But when this file was put up to you, you overturned his proposal and gave the order to demolish the religious structures,” Atishi wrote.

The minister appealed to the L-G to withdraw his order to demolish the religious structures. She said the officers also informed her that the L-G has noted in the file that the demolition of religious structures pertains to law and order, and the LG is the competent authority to take a decision on this. “In future, all files related to demolition of religious structures should not be sent to the elected government. The files should be sent to you directly from the chief secretary,” she added.