Dakshineswar Temple Cleared of Kiosks

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Dakshineswar Temple cleared of kiosks

 

The Dakshineswar Kali temple authorities on Tuesday removed around 30 stalls

lining the pathway adjoining the banks of the Hooghly. They also started

restoration work on the temple.

 

Aided by a battery of policemen, the temple authorities first vacated the

spot, asking the stall-owners to step aside, and then destroyed the

temporary structures dotting the stretch for decades.

 

The stall-owners have been offered a permanent site each in an arcade, built

at an estimated cost of Rs 72 lakh, opposite the temple’s main gate, near

Kuthibari. But most of them are reluctant to move, leaving the temple

authorities jittery. Fearing a backlash from those evicted, the authorities

have shot off letters to the local administration, voicing their fears and

seeking additional protection.

 

According to the scheme, the stretch of the road from Ramakrishna

Paramahansa’s room to the temple’s main ghat will be done up in keeping with

the descriptions in Kathamrita (Ramakrishna’s biography) with the thrust on

details. So, while murals will be painted, the authorities also plan to

plant the trees mentioned in the book.

 

" The idea is to restore the stretch so that it looks the way it did when

Ramakrishna was alive. At the same time, we will ensure that erosion of the

banks is stalled. We have protected a part of it and now the rest will be

taken care of. " says Kushal Choudhury of the temple committee.

 

To begin with, the authorities say, the stretch will be restored for the

benefit of about a million pilgrims set to turn up at the temple on January

1, the day Kalpataru Utsab is celebrated.

 

Since many tourists and pilgrims are expected to turn up in the next few

months, the Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority has been asked to

complete the work as early as possible. At the same time, the temple garden

will be developed.

 

" We are under tremendous pressure to meet the deadline from the Union

ministry of tourism, that has sanctioned Rs 1.5 crore for the revival

package. Unless this stretch is covered, the ministry will not release funds

amounting to Rs 70 lakh, " explains Choudhury.

 

The 400-ft-long path that Ramakrishna walked down, from his room at the

south-west corner, to reach the Kali temple, and the stretch where he took

walks every evening with Swami Vivekananda, will be widened. The road will

command a view of the temple.

 

FROM: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1041117/asp/calcutta/story_4010983.asp