BMC Demolishes Part Of Kedar Gouri Temple’s Boundary Wall In Bhubaneswar, ASI Objects

Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) on Sunday came face-to-face over the former pulling down a portion of the boundary wall of the 9th-century Kedar Gouri temple.

Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Sunday demolished a portion of the boundary wall of Kedar Gouri temple in the city for standing on its land.

According to sources, some people came to the sight in the morning and started breaking the wall. The security guard of the temple premises stopped them and wanted them to produce permission from Archaeological Survery of India (ASI) as the property belonged to ASI.

But they could not produce the permission and instead told the security guard that the municipal corporator of the area Biranchi Narayan Mahasupakar had sent them to pull down the wall so that a JCB machine can go inside the premises for dredging a drain.

On being informed by the security guard about the BMC workers, assistant conservator of ASI Sushant Gochhayat told them to stop the work. After some time, the workers did not heed his words and demolished a part of the boundary wall of the temple.

Gochhayat said he had told the corporator over mobile phone to apply to the ASI about the work and wait till getting its permission. But the BMC workers went ahead with the work saying that the Minister had issued instructions to them to do so.

“Demolition of any structure under the ASI cannot be destroyed without its permission. Since the BMC violated the norms, we have lodged a police complaint in this regard,” he said.

On the other hand, the corporator said since the land belonged to the BMC, there was no need for obtaining ASI permission to carry out demolition work.

“As part of the Kedra Gouri temple’s development, the BMC has undertaken renovation of its tank. A portion of the wall was demolished to let JCB machine go inside for the work,” said Mahasupakar.