85 structures near Haji Malang Dargah razed; trust members express concern

The demolition drive came days after the forest department issued a notice, on June 25, to the unauthorised establishments appealing them to furnish details pertaining to their ownership of the land such as land revenue records, within a period of three days of the notice. They added that with the high likelihood of landslides during monsoons, the encroachments should be removed within seven days.

Replying to the authority, the dargah trust appealed for an allocation of more than three days since the survey no. 134, within which the dargah falls, houses over 300 – 400 structures.

In light of the notice, the forest department, along with the collector’s office, in presence of the police officials, razed nearly 85 structures on Thursday morning, with officials maintaining that only commercial establishments were razed.

According to locals, structures starting from the local Apsara hotel were demolished during the drive.

Speaking to The Indian Express, a senior official from the forest department said that demolition was conducted to remove the unauthorised encroachments since the area is landslide prone.

“Recently, there had been a case of landslide in the Malanggad area where some were injured. All the structures are built on the hilly slope, where there is no solid surface, making the entire area landslide prone. Since thousands of pilgrims visit the shrine, their safety is paramount,” said an official, requesting anonymity. He added, “We had issued them prior notices now and many in the past, since the structures which were razed are unauthorised.

The official maintained that no civil structures were demolished during the drive.

However, Nasir Khan, chairman of the Peer Haji Malang Saheb Dargah Trust told The Indian Express, “The authorities arrived early in the morning and demolished several shops. All the locals and vendors are poor and have been living here for generations. We had appealed to the forest department to give us some more time.”

“We are fearful of what action they may take next against the Haji Malang Dargah, which is centuries old,” added Khan.

The dargah has been in the eye of a controversial storm since the mid-1980s when the local unit of the Shiv Sena led by Anand Dighe, started an agitation alleging that the structure was in fact the location of an old Hindu shrine belonging to Nath Panth.

While the issue was subsequently put on the backburner by the Shiv Sena in the 1990s when it came to power, Shinde reignited the issue earlier this year.