1,865 Jharkhand religious structures face demolition

RANCHI - A staggering 1,865 religious structures in Jharkhand face the threat of demolition as they have been constructed illegally on government land, an official source said Sunday.

The state government has prepared a list of such religious structures, a majority of them temples. There are 40 religious structures, including 39 temples, in Ranchi. There are 150 such structures in Bokaro, 250 in Seraikela, 54 in Deoghar, 94 in Ramgarh and 63 in Godda, among others.

The religious structures were surveyed following a Supreme Court directive last year, the source said.

Meanwhile, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) began its day-long shutdown to protest the Ranchi administration’s move to demolish 39 temples in the state capital.

Shops were closed and roads wore deserted look in many places in Ranchi. BJP extended support to the VHP while Mahavir Mandal, a religious body, called for a shutdown Sep 4.

Asking people to maintain their calm, Jharkhand Chief Secretary A.K. Singh told reporters: “The temples have been served notices. This does not mean that the identified religious structures would be demolished. Some of them could be shifted or regularised.”