The Sai temple being demolished in Cuttack on Monday. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, May 20: The administration today resumed its demolition drive in the city by razing more than 10 minor shrines that had come up on encroached government land.

The drive was carried along the Ring Road from Ganesh Ghat to Khannagar via Puri Ghat. It went on peacefully without any protests.

The drive began from the Sai temple located at Ganesh Ghat this morning. The temple, which had come up on 0.5 decimal land, was demolished because it was hindering the smooth flow of traffic.

The encroached land comes under jurisdiction of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation, the roads and buildings division and the irrigation department.

On the other hand, Sai temple authorities said it was one of the oldest temples in the city. A devotee had started worshipping a photograph of Sai Baba at the place in 1980s. Later, a temple was constructed after 1987 and since then, the temple has been a major religious centre for devotees. However, no notice was served by the authorities to vacate the land prior to the demolition, alleged the temple officials.

“We had started to shift the temple articles over the past couple of days and the idol was shifted today,” said Ravi Mohapatra, a member of the temple committee.

He said though the temple officials had been trying to find alternative land for the construction of a temple, it had not been possible so far.

Apart from Sai temple, six smaller shrines on the Ring Road from Ganesh Ghat to Khannagar were also razed today. These include the shrine of Mangala, Hanuman and Tarini Bhootnath and Shani temples. The boundary wall of the religious shrine of Fakir Takiya pir was also demolished by the enforcement squad near Ganesh Ghat.

Cuttack Mahanagar Dharmanusthan Surakhsya Samiti, a new outfit, has been opposing the ongoing demolition of religious structures. Members of the samiti have decided to move Supreme Court challenging the drive that began on May 1.