BMC's efforts to remove illegal temple fail

MUMBAI: An illegal Shiv temple stands at the sea front on Marine Drive for the past five years despite repeated attempts by the civic authorities to remove it.
The temple, which is about five feet wide, is situated next to the Princess Street flyover. It has a Shivling and idols of Kali and Ganesh. The priest, Vithal Pandey, claimed that the Shivling was discovered by local residents three decades ago and they had been worshipping it ever since.
"It was only five years ago that I constructed a temple by covering the Shivling with grilles from four sides and erecting a two-feet high dome. This was done to protect the Shivling from being desecrated by unscrupulous persons and stray animals. We then installed the other idols," he said.
Following complaints from the public, the staff of the C ward office removed the structure in July last year and fined the priest Rs 1,000, but this did not prove to be a deterrent. In fact, the temple was illegally rebuilt following the intervention of BJP MLA Raj Purohit.
Asked how as a public representative he was supporting an illegal structure, Mr Purohit said he was making an exception to this temple.
He said that people had been offering prayers here for the past 20 years. The devotees only wanted to protect the idols by fitting grilles. "What is wrong with that?" he asked.
But the BMC insists that the temple is illegal. C ward officer Vasant Prabhu said his staff had not only removed the illegal grilles and but had also demolished an illegal wall constructed near the temple.
"After the temple was rebuilt, we wrote a letter to the city collector as the structure was located on collector''s land. But there was no response to our letter." Sources said the temple had been reconstructed by a businessman in the Chowpatty area. Asked why the BMC did not initiate criminal proceedings against this businessman, Mr Prabhu refused to comment. City collector Pradeep Vyas was not available for comment.
Although the temple priest admitted that the grille and dome were illegal, he said the temple had not created any problems in the area.
"The coming up of the temple has cleared the area of garbage and drug addicts. It has also allowed residents to take part in evening bhajans," he said. He stated that even tourists, both domestic and foreign, at Marine Drive pay a visit to the temple.
The temple faces a charitable library and a meditation centre, situated under the flyover. Former BJP corporator from Churchgate Dr Jivraj Shah, who is involved in running the library, refused to comment about the temple.
However, he said, "All illegal structures on a road or pavements should be removed and the issue should not be politicised."