UP: Two temples, a tomb razed in Muzaffarnagar for widening Panipat-Khatima highway

Authorities demolished three structures that are found to be bottlenecks in the widening of Panipat-Khatima highway proposed Muzaffarnagar of Uttar Pradesh a few years ago. Demolitions were carried out after officials' notices in this regard drew no response.

Muzaffarnagar (Uttar Pradesh): The authorities in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar on Tuesday demolished two temples and a tomb as part of a demolition drive against illegal constructions. The three structures on the Panipat-Khatima highway were razed to the ground by a team of anti-encroachment officials under the leadership of sub divisional magistrate (SDM) Sadar Parmanand Jha and the Inspector in charge Thana Titawi.

Officials said that one of the two temples had been illegally built on government land. SDM Sadar Parmanand Jha said that the tomb was constructed by illegally encroaching on the state land. Notices were issued several times to the management in the past to remove the tomb, but to no avail, he added.

The tomb of Ali alias Mehr Singh in Titawi on the Panipat-Khatima road had remained the center of the Hindu-Muslim faith for hundreds of years. Every year on the occasion of Diwali, a fair is being held at the tomb, in which thousands of devotees paid obeisance. When it was proposed to widen the Panipat-Khatima road a few years ago, the tomb became a bottleneck.

The walls of the temple near Titawi police station were also demolished on Tuesday. Earlier, the boundary wall of the nearby government school and graveyard was also demolished for road widening.