The Coimbatore City Corporation demolished seven temples in Kumarasamy Nagar on Tuesday (July 13) along the Muthanankulam bund. One of the temples is said to be over one hundred years old and authorities used ample deployment of police forces to carry out the demolishing.
Coimbatore corporation executive engineer S Ravichandran and Assistant Town Planning Officer K. Sathya used earth movers to demolish Amman Kovil, Bannari Amman Kovil, Angala Parameswari, Karupparayan Kovil, Muneeswaran Kovil and a few other temples.
Six of the idols have been given away to public who had assured the officials to take care of them while one has been kept at the corporation office.
Coimbatore Authorities have Demolished 7 Temples in Tank bund, Muthannankulam after Relocating aprox 300 Families from 14 Acre area by marking it as Enchroachedpic.twitter.com/Abs9p5xkHZ
— Megh Updates 🚨 (@MeghUpdates) July 14, 2021
In 2020, some 2,400 families were moved from the tank bund after demolishing their houses for encroachment of the lake, and alternative housing was provided to them in the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board projects.
According to the corporation, the demolished temples were built on the northern bund of the tank which was deemed as encroached land.
Author and political commentator Ratan Sharda, wrote on Twitter, “All #temples are encroachments. The same was the Mughal view. Thanks for reminding.”
The state of Tamil Nadu is infamous for encroachment of Hindu temple lands. Hindu organizations have protested against the demolition asking why the government bulldozes temples swiftly while not taking any actions against illegal structures of other religions.
Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) condemned the demolition of temples and protested in Gandhi Park on Wednesday (July 14).
The Hindu Munnani also protested the demolition of temples and has demanded alternate land for shifting the temples and idols.
(With inputs from Times of India)
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