Railway Minister steps in to halt demolition of temples at Dadar station

Crowds at Hanuman Temple oppose the demolition. Pic/Shadab Khan

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday intervened to stop the demolition of Hanuman Mandir and other four temples in the Dadar station premise. The Central Railway had initially issued removal notices to five unauthorised temple structures within the Dadar Station premises. The Hanuman Mandir, Gurudeo Dutt Mandir, Mahadev Mandir, Shiv Mandir, and Mahalaxmi Mandir were given seven days to clear the encroachments.

Following directives, the Central Railway (CR) has now decided to stay the notices served to all these temples. While Hanuman Mandir is located opposite the Swaminarayan Mandir and near the Railway Protection Force (RPF) office on platform no 12, the Guru Datta Mandir is located near platform 8 between CR and WR, the Mahadev Mandir located at Dadar-Parel officers' colony and Mahalaxmi Mandir near platform 12.

Vaishnaw's intervention led to the CR releasing a press note later in the day, in which Hanuman Temple has been mentioned. The temples had been slapped with demolition notices by the railways as they had been built on railway land which was now required for the station's redevelopment. "In this regard, after the discussions between MLAs Shri Ashish Shelar and Shri Mangal Prabhat Lodha with the Central Railway officials, and upon the MLAs' request to Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Railways, the matter was reviewed. There upon the notice has been stayed," an official press release from Central Railway stated. The station redevelopment project has been on going across the country.