The estate department of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation on Friday demolished a Jain derasar built inside a society in Vejalpur area, amid public outcry and protests.
The estate department of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) on Friday demolished a Jain derasar built inside a society in Vejalpur area, amid public outcry and protests.
By 1 pm, before the residents could secure an interim stay order from the high court, the civic body had demolished almost 30% of the construction, acting on an oral order from the court.
According to AMC, some residents had filed complaints against Aadinath Jain derasar built on the margin area of block P/2 of Shantinath apartment, near Vejalpur bus stop. Officials of the estate department of AMC dutifully reached the spot at 9 am in the morning, to demolish the shrine.
As soon as the demolition began, trustees and local residents started protesting. They asked the officials on duty to produce a written order from the municipal commissioner or high court. When the officials failed to do so, the residents shouted slogans and asked the officials to stop the demolition immediately.
"Based on some complaints, the AMC secured an oral order from the high court to demolish the structure," said Ketan Shah, one of the trustees of the Shantinath Shwetambar Jain Sangh. He added that the trust had already filed a petition two days ago for a stay on the order and AMC should have waited for the final order from the court before taking such an action.
"I don't know why AMC is showing such swiftness in demolishing a religious structure which is neither on the public road nor built on illegal land," said Bhupendra Bhavsar, one of the trustees.
After four hours of high drama, the trust finally managed to secure an interim order from the court and immediately informed the legal department of AMC. The estate officer on duty stopped the demolition after receiving a call from their senior legal assistant. However, by that time, the entire dome, some parts of the gate and front entrance had already been demolished.
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