Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot may be next in line after HC order on demolition of illegal structures.
AHMEDABAD: Will other cities of Gujarat also burn if civic authorities raze down places of worship that illegally dot public spaces? After the Gujarat High Court order on Monday asked authorities in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot to remove all illegal places of worship, municipal authorities have swung into action to prepare a list of such structures.
Authorities fear that without proper communication with the local communities and without involvement of local leaders, the situation could turn volatile. None of the corporations, though, had a clear idea as to how many such structures exist. All corporations are to submit a report of illegal shrines to the HC on Friday, following which the next course of action will be decided.
While no exact figures are available, estimates suggest the number of illegal places of worship in the four cities of Gujarat will exceed 5,000. Ahmedabad is believed to have over 2,000 such structures, followed by Surat and Rajkot with estimated 1,100 and 1,000 respectively.
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) houses close to 2,000 small and large illegal religious structures, including some decades-old shrines in sensitive areas. "A High Court directive cannot be ignored. We will try and negotiate with the communities to relocate the structures," Ahmedabad Mayor Amit Shah told DNA.
A senior AMC official said, "We have been carrying out demolitions, albeit low key, but following the HC directive, it will be geared up." He refused to comment on the probability of more violence erupting, but insisted that the demolition process will be completed.
According to Surat Municipal Commissioner Pankaj Joshi, there are 40 major illegal religious structures, including many on the main roads.
Meanwhile, the Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) is not too worried as majority of the big religious structures have already been demolished in the past two years. "Over 100 religious structures have already been demolished. We have not faced resistance as demolition was conducted with support of the local leaders," Rajkot Municipal Commissioner Mukesh Kumar said.
The majority of the demolished structures were temples. Three madrasas were also demolished, but there were no shrines or darghas, he added.
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