Bhubaneswar: Following the clearing of illegal constructions around Jagannath Temple in Puri, the state government has decided to remove encroachments near Lingaraj Temple in the Capital city for conservation of the 12th-century shrine.
Bhubaneswar Development Authority’s (BDA) Additional Commissioner, Harishchandra Nayak, Saturday, said that a joint survey will be done by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), General Administration (GA) department and Lingaraj temple administration.
“The authorities will begin the survey from Tuesday and will demarcate government, private and temple land around the shrine and evict encroachers. The move is necessary for conservation of the shrine as well as management of traffic. Suggestions will be taken from Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for implementation of the move after the survey work is completed,” Nayak added.
While the temple has around 80 feet space on its east and north sides, it has less than 30 feet space on its south and west. A continuous encroachment by roadside vendors has been cited as the main reasons behind gridlocks and poor crowd management in the area.
Major crowds are observed during Shiv Ratri and Shravan months at the temple. Denizens have complained that limited space availability leads to a lot of confusion and inconvenience to them. Although efforts had been made by the state government in the past to regulate illegal constructions and remove encroachments, it hasn’t achieved desired results.
Furthermore, Additional Commissioner, BMC, Abanikanta Patnaik said that all encroachments around the temple identified during the survey will be immediately removed for widening of roads and creation of more public space.
“If required, the Government may also acquire private land in the area for this purpose. The total area surrounding the temple where eviction and land acquisition will be carried out will be decided only after the survey,” he added.