Locals stop construction of temple wall

TNN / Apr 25, 2006, 01:18 IST

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Attempt of UPPCL officials to raise the height of the boundary wall of its hostel on Rana Pratap Marg was thwarted by the locals on Monday.

LUCKNOW: Attempt of UPPCL officials to raise the height of the boundary wall of its hostel on Rana Pratap Marg was thwarted by the locals on Monday.
The raised wall would have closed the temple situated in hostel's premises from the side where two liquor shops, to be shifted as per the High Court's order, are located.
Two former corporators, Bantu Yadav and Nagendra Singh Chauhan, led the crowd in raising slogans against the liquor shop owners.
Later, the wall, construction of the which had started on Sunday, was demolished by the people. Daljeet Singh, licensee of the model liquor shop, argued that he had a stay order from the High Court against its order which says that any liquor shop located within 100 metres of a school or a place of worship should be shut down.

"The date for the next hearing in the writ petition filed by me is May 22,"said Singh. He said that he did not have anything to do with the wall that was being raised.
Objections have been raised about the location of the liquor shop near the temple in past, even before the HC order was passed.
Caretaker of the Hydel officers' hostel Brij Raj Tandon claimed that the order to raise the height of boundary wall on only one side was given by the chief engineer.

He could not recall the exact date of the order, but said that it was passed in 2006. "Rs 80,000 was sanctioned for the wall, which was to be raised 90 cm more,"he said.
Interesting, the civil construction wing of the hydel department was raising only the north side of the boundary wall.
When asked why other sides of the wall were not being raised, Tandon said, "there is too much traffic on Rana Pratap Marg, which causes disturbance."
However, he could not explain how a 90 cm-high wall would prevent the traffic noise. SP (west) Rakesh Pradhan and CO Hazratganj Ganshyam Chaurasia were present at the spot.
The police ordered that the construction of the wall be stopped immediately. The timing of the construction of the wall raises suspicions, though there is no evidence of any connivance between the licensee and the hydel department officials.
However, a wall could have been an excuse for the existence of the liquor shop as it could be argued that the temple opens on the other side, and not on the side where the liquor shop is located.

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