Eviction notice issued: Ramgarh district to demolish 254 unauthorized shops at Rajrappa temple; shopkeepers demand rehabilitation before eviction

Ramgarh: A total of 254 unauthorised shops located on the Rajrappa temple premises would be razed by the district administration from April 15. The Chitarpur circle office had on March 25 asked the traders to vacate land illegally occupied by them within a week.

Ramgarh deputy commissioner (DC) Faiz Aq Ahmad Mumtaz said, “After serving eviction notices to 254 shop owners on the Rajrappa temple premises, the administration has given them time till April 14 to vacate the land. The administration would start eviction drive on April 15 if the land is not vacated till then.”

The district administration has been working on a beautification plan for Rajrappa temple premises so as to provide better amenities to devotees, for which illegally occupied land need to be vacated, said an official.

A bench comprising Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad and Justice Sanjay Prasad of the Jharkhand high court, while hearing a petition on April 1 alleging non-compliance of earlier court orders, directed tourism secretary Mukesh Kumar and Ramgarh deputy commissioner Faiz Aq Ahmad Mumtaz to conduct a survey of Chhinnamastika temple in Ramgarh and submit beautification proposal to the court.

A day after HC order, Ramgarh DC Faiz Aq Ahmad, sub-divisional officer (SDO) Anurag Kumar Tiwari, Chitarpur circle officer (CO), officer in-charge of the Rajrappa police station Krishna Kumar inspected the temple premises and held meetings with the Rajrappa Mandir Nyas Sammittee, an official said.

Shopkeepers demanded rehabilitation before the eviction drive as most of the traders belong to the adjoining villages, which have been providing necessary things and services to devotees for the past several decades.

Dilip Kumar Sao, who runs a hotel that was opened by his father 70 year ago, said that he along with other shops has raised the demand for rehabilitation before their eviction as shopkeepers had deposited Rs 1,000 to authorities in 1996 for getting shop in shopping complex developed by the administration.

Rajrappa temple is among five popular tourist destinations which are being developed by state tourism department, which include Baidyanath Dham temple in Deoghar, Parasnath hills in Giridih, Bhadrakali temple in Itkhori of Chatra district, Anjan Dham in Gumla district, and Patratu Lake Resort and Rajrappa temple in Ramgarh district, said an official.