Puri Transformation: Eviction Within 75 Meters Starts Today

Puri: The efforts of the government to transform the heritage city continued unabated as the district administration is in full gear to remove the structures within the 75 meters earmarked area around Shri Jagannath Temple.

Development Commissioner Suresh Mahapatra yesterday held a meeting with the officials and discussed the issues related to the eviction process. After the outer structures, the authorities have started the eviction process within the 75 meters area that has been ear marked for removal all structures. In view of this, the district administration has deployed around 24 platoons of police force. On Tuesday the, the authorities started the removal of Languli Matha near the Singha Dwara. The Matha had about 17 shops who were selling Puja samagri and food items. The government has assured that any shop or resident who is being evicted from near the temple will be adequately compensated.

Yesterday the district authorities had informed the occupants of the various buildings within the 75 meter to vacate on their own so that there won’t be any trouble. Singha Dwara police station officials and the Superintendent of Police were seen on the ground the whole day looking after the eviction process. The Emara Matha is also expected to be removed today. The shops and residents have also been instructed to prepare the loss assessment, so that the government will compensate them adequately.  While the 17 shops of Languli Matha and five shops of Emara Matha are earmarked to be removed today, a temple situated inside the Languli Matha is not to be removed in the process.

Most of the people who are going to be affected by the decision to remove the structures from within the 75 meter peripheral area of the Shri Jagannath Temple have welcomed the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s request to sacrifice in the name of development and are cooperating with the district administration in the eviction process.