Have spoken with Railways, Dadar Hanuman temple won’t be demolished: BJP leaders
Mumbai, Dec 14: A day after Uddhav Thackeray slammed the BJP over a demolition notice issued by the Railways to a temple outside Mumbai’s Dadar station, ruling party leaders claimed on Saturday that they have got it stayed.
BJP legislator Mangal Prabhat Lodha said the Dadar Hanuman temple will be protected.
Lodha visited the shrine near Platform No. 12 at Dadar East, adjacent to the Central Railway station. He interacted with the temple trustees and joined the ‘aarti’.
MLA Kalidas Kolambkar and members of Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad were also present at the temple.
Lodha said he had spoken with Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and an order has been issued to halt the demolition.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Thackeray on Friday claimed that Railways had issued a ‘fatwa’ (edict) to bring down the 80-year-old Hanuman temple built by porters. Taking a dig at the BJP’s “ek hai to safe hai” slogan, he said even temples are not safe in the saffron party’s regime.
After his temple visit, Lodha, who represents the Malabar Hill assembly constituency in the city, told reporters that the BJP-led governments at the Centre and Maharashtra listen to the concerns over Hindutva and that of the people.
“We understand the sentiments of the Hindu community regarding this temple, and I assure you that no harm will come to this sacred place. Since we learnt about the situation, BJP leaders, and Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad workers have all been in contact with railway minister Vaishnaw,” he said.
The BJP leader said they have made every effort to protect the temple and would continue to do so.
“Any attempt to politicise religious sentiments has been thwarted before it could succeed, and we have successfully saved the temple,” he asserted.
In a notice dated December 4 to the trustee/pujari of the temple, the Railways said the structure was an encroachment and constructed without authorisation on land owned by it.
These structures are affecting the movement of commuters and vehicular traffic. It is also obstructing the construction of infrastructure works at Dadar station, it said. The Railways had given a seven-day notice for the removal of the structure.
Lodha said the notice has been stayed.
His party colleague and former MP Kirit Somaiya also visited the temple. He told the trustees that the railway officials had assured him the temple wouldn’t be demolished.
Attacking Thackeray, Somaiya told reporters that those who put devotees of the deity in jail for chanting ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ eventually have to surrender before Lord Hanuman, referring to the arrest of former MP Navneet Rana in Mumbai two years ago.
“He has accepted Sajjad Nomani, Ulema board, Marathi Muslim Seva Sangh and ‘vote jihad’ and should stay committed to them,” Somaiya said.
Meanwhile, former Shiv Sena MP Rahul Shewale said he has written to Vaishnaw citing that a similar notice was issued a few years ago and was stopped after his intervention. He urged the Union minister to find a permanent solution to the matter saying that the temple is very popular among locals.
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Steel mirrors deployed in Mysuru to discourage public urination
Mysuru (PTI): Fed up with people relieving themselves along roadsides, the Mysuru City Corporation has adopted a unique strategy to curb the practice and promote civic sense by installing reflective steel mirrors along pavements, officials said on Friday.
In what officials described as a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Corporation installed stainless steel sheets with a mirror finish along an 80-metre stretch opposite the Mysuru Suburban Bus Stand.
Officials said the reflective sheets are intended to confront anyone attempting to urinate in public with their own reflection, thereby discouraging the act psychologically.
“The idea is to maintain cleanliness and hygiene, prevent public nuisance, and promote civic sense. It is a simple yet psychological approach that encourages self-awareness through reflection,” officials added.
Soon after the mirrors were installed, videos of the initiative went viral on social media, with many people appreciating the administration’s innovative attempt to address public urination. At the same time, some users pointed out the lack of basic civic sense among people.
Several social media users also suggested that more public toilets, maintained in a hygienic condition, were needed to further discourage open urination.
Explaining how the idea originated, Nitesh Patil, Administrator and Regional Commissioner of the Mysuru City Corporation, told PTI that despite a public toilet being located next to the bus stand, many people continued to urinate in the open.
Even fines and warnings failed to deter them from relieving themselves against vacant compound walls, leaving behind a foul smell.
“One of our engineers came up with this idea, and we decided to implement it. The initiative has received a very positive response from the public, social media, and the press. We are now planning to identify more such locations in the city and install similar reflectors,” he said.
According to him, to ensure that the installation is both effective and visually appealing, LED lighting that switches on along with the streetlights has also been added, causing the stretch to glow at night and enhancing the city’s appearance.
Patil said the initiative had helped create civic awareness while also beautifying the city.
“We want our city to be clean and hygienic. We aspire to become the cleanest city in the country,” he added, recalling that Mysuru secured third place nationally in the Swachh Survekshan Awards 2024–25 last year.
