The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Mahagujarat Janta Party will stage a dharana to protest the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s (AMC) decision to demolish a 150-year-old temple at Juna Vadaj.The civic body proposes to demolish the temple to make way for the Vadaj-Dhudheshwar Bridge on the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) route.
The temple is owned by Nilakanth Mahadev Trust of Asarwa and it is around 150 years old.“Any property that is older than 100 years cannot be demolished and our temple is more than 150 years old and we have the documents to prove it,” said Rajendra Pandey, trustee of Swatantragiri Naklang Nilkanth Akhada.
He said that the temple authorities had represented their case to all the concerned authorities including the governor, the chief minister, the minister of urban development, the municipal commissioner and the mayor. The civic body had apparently promised the temple authorities that only a minor portion of the temple would be demolished.
“However, the way the civic body is working, we fear that the temple will be completely destroyed,” said Pandey.“We have also sought legal help in the matter and the high court will be taking the case on board on Thursday,” he said.
Suresh Patel of Mahagujarat Janta Party said that the party does not want the temple to be demolished. “This is one of the heritage properties of the city and it should not be demolished to pave way for a modern project like BRTS,” said Patel.
When contacted, deputy municipal commissioner of AMC’s estate development and town planning department Utpal Padia said that the civic body had a dialogue with the temple authority and will try to save the temple.
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