Mumbai: The Indian Railway has issued a seven-day notice to the Hanuman Temple located in the Dadar area of Mumbai. In its letter, the Railway demanded the removal of the structure as the unauthorized temple is situated near the Central Railway’s Platform No. 12, behind the RPF office .
The notice issued by the Railways said that the temple prevents the smooth movement of the traffic and also creates obstruction for the work that is being carried out at Dadar station. It has asked the temple authority to remove the temple and vacate the railway land within a week. In its letter, the Railways also said that the failure to comply will lead to forceful removal of the structure. Importantly, the development work at the Dadar station is part of a larger initiative to further improve passenger facilities and streamline operations across the railway network.
Indian Railways agrees to review the letter
After speaking to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiya, the Railway has decided to reconsider its decision and review the notice it sent to the temple authorities. In its letter to the Railways earlier, Somaiya wrote, “We are shocked by ADEN (Works) Byculla, Centre Railway Engineer’s notice of 4th December 2024, asking the Trustee/Pujari of Hanuman Mandir, Dadar East to remove the unauthorized Hanuman Mandir within seven days.”
He added, “We are disturbed that the officials did not apply the basic principle of “application of mind” on this issue. Millions of people traveling via Dadar East, Central Railway, and more than 1.5 crores population of the MMR region see this Hanuman Mandir with “Shraddha”.
Indian Railways letter shocking: Kirin Somaiya
“Suddenly, the Railway issued a notice to demolish this Mandir within seven days, which is not only shocking but also disturbing. I have enquired that no major project is coming up in this area which gets affected due to this Mandir,” he wrote further urging the Indian Railways to reconsider its decision. Meanwhile, the Saamna has also published the development relating to Indian Railways issuing the notice to the 80-year-old temple. It added that devotees are extremely upset due to this and some protesters protested against the notice four days back.
