CUTTACK: In a glaring example of administrative apathy, the debris of Gundicha temple razed to the ground in 2013 following orders of the Orissa High Court, still awaits disposal six years after demolition.
As per reports, the district administration demolished Gundicha temple in May 2013 as per the Orissa High Court order for demolition of unauthorised religious structures in the city.
While Gundicha temple was completely razed, other temples in the vicinity including Ram Mandir and Radha Krishna Bhakti Mandir were partially pulled down by bulldozers. The two temples have been dug out from the base and are tilting to one side, posing threat to lives.
On the other hand, the debris of Gundicha temple lies scattered over two acres of land on which the temple existed along the banks of river Kathajodi.
“The rubble and broken pillars of temples are examples of lack of accountability by the administration,” said Bhikari Das, secretary of Cuttack Mahanagar Puja Committee. According to sources, the High Court had constituted a committee headed by the then Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC) to demolish unauthorised religious structures and beautify the place.
The district administration had planned to ‘beautify’ the place by developing a park on the riverbank after the demolition of the Gundicha temple. “However, there are no signs of initiative or willingness of authorities concerned in this regard,” Das remarked. Executive Engineer, Mahanadi South Division, Basant Rout said a letter will be issued to the district administration seeking necessary suggestion to go ahead for removal of the debris.