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A day after the civic body in Morbi served a demolition notice to an under construction Swaminarayan temple, District Collector KB Jhaveri on Wednesday said he has formed a multi-disciplinary committee to look into alleged encroachment. The District Collector swung into action after social worker KD Panchasara, advocate Dilip Agechaniya and two others filed an application at his office on May 27.
Panchasara and Agechaniya have alleged that parts of the under construction temple precincts encroached the bed of Machchhu river at the site where 135 people were killed after the Jhulto Pul collapse on October 30, 2022. In their application, the four claimed that the construction by the Swaminarayan sect was constricting the course of the river, which can spell disaster in the event of a flood.
“Primary inquiry suggests that as seen from (Mayur) bridge, the construction seems to be an encroachment on the bed of the river. Keeping in mind the application we have received, we have asked chief officer of Morbi municipality, sub-divisional magistrate of Morbi, our DILR (district inspector of land records) and executive engineer (of irrigation department) to conduct a joint survey and submit a report,” Jhaveri told reporters.
While phone calls and text messages to Harismaran Swami, who is overseeing construction of the temple, did not elicit any response, a senior functionary of the sect in Morbi claimed the construction is legal. “A retaining wall has been there on the eastern bank for the past 100 years. Thanks to that, the eastern part of Morbi was not affected during the 1979 Machchhu dam disaster. All that we are doing now is to raise the height of that wall,” the functionary said, “We have purchased this piece of land from the royal family of Morbi. Our construction is legal and we shall respond in due course of time.”
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