Dagdusheth asks CM to clear encroachments around temple

It was reported by MiD DAY that Mohammad Qateel Siddiqui, an alleged Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative, had confessed to the Delhi police that he had tried to place a bomb near a flower vendor on the temple premises on February 13 last year. The attempt was unsuccessful as the flower vendor noticed the bag and asked Siddiqui to not keep it there.

Ashok Godse, a trustee of the temple, said a letter had been dispatched to Chavan bringing up the issue of encroachments.u00a0"The terror attacks that have taken place all across Indiau00a0in recent times show the suspects targeted places close to sensitive establishments.u00a0

Considering this, we have written a letter to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra requesting him that urgent steps are necessary to clear the entire area around the temple of encroachments," he said.

Mahesh Suryavanshi, treasurer of the trust, said to ensure security the temple was taking all necessary steps in its power like posting sufficient guards and using baggage scanners, but there were some issues which only the state authorities could solve.u00a0

"The trust is upgrading the security measures at the temple, but we feel that the issue of stalls mushrooming around the temple needs to be addressed," he said. "Besides the stalls, there is the issue of the Faraskhana police using government land to park recovered stolen vehicles. As the parking lot is close to the temple, there is potential danger if unidentified objects are kept in the parked vehicles. Moreover, the large garbage bin nearby is a major cause of concern, considering the past trends wherein terrorists placed explosives in lesser important spots that were close to the sensitive spots."

On the issue of the recovered vehicles, Joint Commissioner of Police Sanjeevkumar Singhal said the point made by the temple would be considered.u00a0"We will look into the matter," he said. "The temple has its own security and, besides this, an SRPF platoon is posted in the premises most of the time.'

Sources in the Pune Municipal Corporation said only 18-20 small stall owners on the temple premises had licences and all other flower vendors were doing business illegally. They added that as a result of repeated terror threats to the temple, letters had also been sent to legal stall owners asking them to shift elsewhere.u00a0The PMC sources also pointed out how the temple authorities had indulged in encroachment by installing barricades and that on the day of Ganesh Chaturthi the queue of devotees blocked the road. u00a0Vishrambaug and Kasba Peth ward officer Arun Khilari, who recently took the charge of the post, said he needed time to gather information on these issues before commenting.

Residents of Budhwar Peth who own 15 stalls on the Dagadusheth Halwai temple premises were unable to remember if any incident of a man trying to place a suspicious bag had occurred on Februaryu00a013 last year. Neelam Kadam, a former BJP corporator whose family owns five stalls, said: "We've employed youths from Latur, who work here on temporary basis. We do not remember if any man approached us on the day of the bakery blast. As a rule we do not allow devotees to keep their bags at the stalls." Kadam added that the PMC had denied them licences.