Cuttack: The Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) Friday started an eviction drive and demolished the Hunkeswar Mahadev temple on Pilgrim Road in the city.
According to sources, a demolition squad of CMC began the drive in the morning and along with the Hunkeswar Mahadev temple, also demolished the Naba Graha temple in the same locality.
The chief servitor of Hunkeswar Mahadev temple burst into tears after the CMC squad demolished old shrine.
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Residents of nearby Das Sahi slum protested the eviction drive and later proceeded to the CMC office and staged a dharna in front of it.
A local outfit of slum dwellers’ associations named Basti Basindanka Milita Mancha led the sit-in at CMC office.
The slum dwellers demand that the demolition be stopped immediately, insisting on adequate rehabilitation, a source said.
Local police who were present along with the squad tried to pacify the slum dwellers. Palpable tension prevails in the Pilgrim Road area.
Further details are still awaited.
PNN