Gaya, July 19: Shop owners and residents of Bodhgaya have protested the state tourism department’s move to shift and demolish the shops around Mahabodhi Mahavihara.
The department has also proposed the demolition of some shops to beautify the heritage site. The shop owners said if the plans were implemented, it would affect their business.
Five out of 22 persons, who got notice for demolition of their constructions have filed a written petition in Patna High Court seeking relief.
A meeting of shopkeepers and owners of constructions, which were identified as unplanned, was held today at the library of Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee (BTMC).
Bodhgaya Nagar Panchayat executive officer Sushil Kumar Mishra told The Telegraph the meeting was called after Bihar state tourism department principal secretary Deepak Kumar declared the plans to remove the shops.
Raising objections over the shifting, the shopkeepers demanded that the tourism department principal secretary should come to the town and clarify the reasons for the shifting the shops. “The demand of the shopkeepers would be sent to the principal secretary through the Magadh division commissioner,” Mishra said.
Earlier, at a high-level meeting of the state tourism department, it was decided to seal the shops that do not shift by July 31. The department had also decided to demolish the unplanned constructions respectively to ensure the beautification of Bodhgaya.
Around 58 shops have been running on the Mahabodhi shopping complex towards north of the world heritage Mahabodhi Mahavihara. Out of the 58 shops, 27 are owned by BTMC, 23 by the tourism department and eight by the Bodhgaya Nagar Panchayat. All these shops have been rented out to individuals. Since, Mahabodhi Mahavihara was included as a world heritage site by Unesco on June 27, 2002, the shops run the threat of being shifted.
A notice for a shift was served in 2008 and the second one in 2010. Recently, on July 17, the Bodhgaya Nagar Panchayat served a letter to the shop owners inviting them to today’s meeting.
One of the shopkeepers, Mahendra Pratap, who also attended today’s meeting told The Telegraph the shops have to be shifted either at node — I or at node — II. Node – I falls near the Bodhgaya Dak Bungalow, while node — II falls along the Gaya-Bodhgaya riverside road.
