The Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) and the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) began an eviction drive for clearing encroachments around the Lingaraj Temple here on Monday with the demolition of several shops near the shrine.
The drive commenced at around 11 am. Illegal structures located on the stretch from the Singhadwar of the temple to the Bhajan Mandap and sub-station would be cleared in the first phase. With an adequate number of police personnel being deployed, there was no major protest from the shopkeepers and locals.
Most of the shop owners had already vacated their establishments as an announcement regarding the eviction drive had been made by the authorities on Sunday. The encroachments are being cleared for widening of roads and creation of more public space around the temple. Recently, the Lingaraj Market Complex in front of the shrine had been demolished.
A survey for identification of all unauthorised and unsafe structures and encroachments had been carried out in October. The vacant land would be handed over to the Tourism Department for the temple’s beautification project.