Jharkhand: Railways issues eviction notice to Dhanbad temple

DHANBAD: The Dhanbad railway division has shot off a notice to a Hanuman temple charging it with encroachment and asked it to vacate the land within 10 days.
The notice has been issued in the name of Hanuman Temple of Bekar Bandh locality and was pasted on the temple wall. On Tuesday morning, as locals spotted it, they started opposing the move in the name of hurting religious sentiments.
Sources said the rail division has served notices to nearly 300 families of Bekar Bandh locality asking them to vacate the land they are living on within 10 days as it belongs to the railways failing which legal action would be initiated against them.
A similar notice was also served to the temple asking the authorities to vacate the land within 10 days or face eviction along with legal action.
On Tuesday morning, hundreds of residents of the locality assembled in front of the temple and raised slogans against the railways for hurting religious sentiments. “We are living here for the past 41 years and roads and drains have been constructed in the colony from local area development (LAD) funds of Dhanbad MLA,” said Mahendra Khatik, a local resident.
He added that the railways never objected earlier. “Now we, along with our deity, have been served notices to vacate the land which would be opposed tooth and nail. It is astonishing that no notice has been served to the church and mazar built on rail land near the railway stadium,” he said.
Despite repeated attempts, no rail official agreed to comment.