A protest was led by the local residents of Sikanderpur area in Gurgaon against the local administration’s orders of demolishing a local temple to build a new wine and liquor outlet. Residents and local ward members protested against the demolition of the 20-year-old Shiva temple.
According to the Gurgaon District Administration, the temple was already demolished when the Golf Course Road was being constructed. “We got to know that the temple was first demolished last year when the Golf Course Road was being constructed. It was only 3-4 months back that the locals re-installed an idol of lord Shiva, which was followed by walls, turning it into a small temple,” said T L Satyaprakash, the deputy commissioner of Gurgaon.
The locals accused the civic bodies of allegedly building a pub and a bar-kind of a place by destroying the old Shiva temple near the authorised land. According to the information received, the local administration had passed the demolition orders on Monday night after which, the team from Gurgaon administration had planned to visit the spot on Wednesday morning. Men, women, children and senior citizens from the nearby villages had gathered to protest while blocking the traffic. Sources revealed that it was because of the strength that gathered which kept the team from the administration at bay.
“This temple is a 20-year-old temple and according to the law, no liquor outlet can be opened within 200 metres of the temple,” said Jaipal Yadav, a local resident. The local residents of DLF phase I H block have been trying to ask the administration for the past four years to shut these liquor shops located on the Gurgaon-Faridabad road. In regard to this matter, the residents have also filed a memorandum and sent it to T L Satyaprakash on Tuesday. The memorandum reads: “We have been writing letters to various departments to shut down these liquor shops, but no action has been taken by the district administration.”
Lately, after a meeting with the Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Taxation it was decided that one of the liquor outlets will be shut but another was opened right next to it,” said Rama Rani Rathi of district ward number 34.