PURI: The district administration on Tuesday took possession of the Bagaria dharmashala located about a 100 metre away from Sri Jagannath temple.
Puri tehsildar Khirod Kumar Behera said, “The building was sealed and a case was registered after we received a public complaint against the Dharmshala Trust Board stating that the property was being illegally used for commercial purposes. The administration was directed to take its possession after the case was disposed of in October 2021,” he added.
The land measuring about 46.5 decimal was bought by Seth Tolaram Sujanmull Bagaria in 1961 from the government. The dharmashala, a three-storey building, was constructed with 50 big rooms, a huge kitchen and a temple in the middle. The trust board had since a long time allegedly rented out the rooms on the ground floors to traders. Presently, the Simhadwar police station and the Revenue department is functioning on its premises.
Reportedly, there are many such dharmashalas located along the Puri Grand road which are also being illegally rented out to merchants.