Following an order from the Bombay High Court, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has been demolishing illegal temples, which obstruct commuter movement in the city. There has been a lot of tension in Malad West since the civic body issued a notice for demolishing a Hanuman Temple in the area. Earlier this week, when BMC staff reached the spot to raze the structure, people associated with Sonya Maruti Sewa Samiti Trust, which manages the temple, and BJP MP Gopal Shetty opposed the move, claiming that it has been there since 1948.

BMC workers fix some portions of the temple, which they had removed, after Sonya Maruti Sewa Samiti Trust members opposed its demolition on Thursday. Pic/Nimesh Dave