BHOPAL: The district administration in Ujjain started removing permanent structures, including houses and a mosque in Nizamuddin colony on Sunday, to pave the way for expansion of the existing Mahakaleshwar Temple Corridor Project.
The government had paid Rs 33 crore, out of the total Rs 66 crore compensation, to occupants evicted from the area prior to the demolition of over 250 permanent structures. The land will be used for expanding the vehicular parking facility and constructing a Pravachan Hall (sermon hall) as part of the ambitious preparations for the 2028 Ujjain Simhastha (Kumbh).
According to official sources, on day one of the removal of structures from the locality situated close to the Mahakal Lok Temple Corridor, around 50 structures, including Takia Masjid, were removed without any major resistance.
Heavy police force was deployed in the entire area to prevent any untoward incident. The local administration and police begun to publicly announce the start of the removal process Saturday morning onwards, since last evening.
“Out of the 257 permanent structures, barring 17-18, all (among them a religious structure) will be removed, as the land acquisition process has been duly fulfilled by making payment of Rs 33 crores to the residents there. Those structures, whose owners/occupants have got stay from the Court, however, will not be touched,” Ujjain district collector Neeraj Singh told this newspaper on Saturday.
The removal process, carried out with the help of bulldozers and poclain machines, was supervised by the additional district collector Anukul Jain and the additional SP Nitesh Bhargava.
"An area near the Shakti Path of Mahakal Corridor was marked for construction. The administration has acquired it and after that, structures are being removed. We have been deployed here to prevent any situation of law and order developing in the region due to the action," the ASP said.