Puri: Puri district administration Friday resumed the demolition drive around Jagannath temple that had been temporarily paused in view of COVID outbreak.
In this phase, the district administration has plans to demolish three private houses located near Meghanad Pacheri (Jagannath temple boundary wall) which come under Balisahi mouza here.
Also read: Demolition begins around Puri Srimandir
“The eviction drive was launched while strictly following COVID-19 guidelines and adhering to the state government’s directives,” Puri sub-collector Bhabataran Sahu informed.
Acting on the directives of the state government, Puri district administration had started the first phase of the eviction drive back in August 2019 to clear encroachment from 75-metre radius of the temple boundary wall.
The freed space would be used for beautification and development of amenities of pilgrims, the state government had said. Besides, the government had also pointed out that demolition of unauthorised and unsafe structures around the temple would help keep the 12th-century shrine safe.
That said, the demolition drive came to an abrupt halt March 15 this year amid COVID outbreak and subsequent lockdowns and shutdowns until the government allowed the work to continue recently.
PNN
