PURI: A day after amicus curiae Ranjit Kumar’s nod to the State Government’s renovation plan for the pilgrim town, the demolition drive resumed with the razing of Bada Akhada mutt here on Sunday.
The demolition of Bada Akhada, one of the oldest Hindu monasteries of Puri, was halted last week following stiff opposition from mahants of different mutts. Mahant of the mutt Harinarayan Das, along with his disciples, had refused to come out of the structure protesting the Government move.
The district administration started demolishing Bada Akhada mutt early on Sunday by engaging six excavators in the presence of police and 10 magistrates. Within six hours, a total of 85 rooms of the two-storey building were razed.
The mutt building, which is more than 200 years old, was constructed by using mortar, sand and limestone powder. It was declared unsafe by the administration a decade ago.
Tippers were engaged for removing debris from the site. The small temple inside the mutt complex, its kitchen, Gaadi (seat of religious head) and storeroom remained intact.
Before demolition, Das and his disciples were shifted to Niladri Bhakta Niwas, a hotel under the temple administration, located alongside Badadanda. The administration also created a special barricaded passage to facilitate pilgrim movement to the temple.
No untoward incident was reported. As per the decision, suitable land is being identified for construction of new mutt building, sources said.
On Saturday, Kumar visited the town and welcomed the Government’s attempt to transform Puri into an international heritage city by clearing structures within 75- metre radius around the Jagannath temple.
He also urged the residents, servitors and devotees to cooperate with the administration as the plan would be beneficial for all. Since 15 lakh visitors are expected to witness Nagarjun Besha, which falls after 25 years, of the deities in 2020, the heritage work was essential, he said.
Women of Baseli Sahi stage dharna
Meanwhile, hundreds of women of Baseli Sahi staged dharna near South Gate of the temple protesting acquisition of their ancestral houses for demolition. “We do not believe that the Government would provide 600 houses to the displaced families as announced by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
The families ousted on earlier occasions are yet to get their compensation money,” they pointed out and said the amicus curiae also did not heard their grievances.