Salaam Jabalpur

Thanks Ramesh for sharing this. It's just amazing. I have sent a mail worded as below to Dr Saleem, IPS, Addl Commissioner, Traffic. I shall be sending similar letters to the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary and others too, soon.

Please organise a screening of this 18 minutes video clip on the action taken by Jabalpur city in clearing all places of worship from public places for the City Corporators, and thereafter, follow it up with action similar to what Jabalpur has already done. For your information, Sir, there are enough and more Karnataka High Court rulings in this regard too, like the one here (there are plenty more too).

The BMC had announced a list of 534 illegal shrines and given time till January 28 to the concerned parties to respond. However, following fervent demands from public, the BMC had extended the deadline up to February 12, and now it has been further extended up to April 22.

According to civic sources, any shrine that is in existence from 1964 would be of legal status. People objecting the illegal status of these shrines were asked to submit the necessary documents to prove that the shrine existed before that period.

"Along with suggestions and objections, people have also submitted documents about concerned shrines, and asked for hearing to decide on their status. Some have also asked for shifting of the shrines instead of demolition, while some have drawn attention to new shrines in their areas," said a senior civic official.

For the full report in the ToI, click here.

Mumbai has been saying the right things from long (check this); but, action is yet to follow. Hopefully, this time they mean business.

Late comment Ramesh, but saw this just today. Thanks for sharing.

The High Court on Monday directed the City Police Commissioner to ensure free flow of traffic on Thyagaraja Nagar First Main Road.

Disposing of a public interest litigation, the division bench of acting Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee and Justice B V Nagarathna also directed the city police commissioner to ensure free movement of traffic at similar roads across the city.

The division bench asked, “Has any god asked that a temple be built and pooja be performed on the public road?”

Before this, Petitioner Prashanth Rao argued that due to the activities of a local Panduranga temple, traffic on First Main Road has been closed for three days and this happens every time there is a religious function. Rao also claimed the temple was built on the road and vehicles were being parked right in front of houses. He further argued that the sound of loudspeakers caused discomfort to his ailing mother, who had undergone surgery.

For the full text of the report in the New Indian Express, click here.

Enough instances have been cited in this blog, in the past (just scroll up), about courts, both in the state as well as at the Centre, issuing similar directions.

Instances have also been cited about city administrations clearing/ re-locating shrines to allow for smooth flow of traffic, and, in some cases, the shrine administrations doing it on their own too, the best example being Jabalpur (cited in the opening post).

So, what more does the Commissioner need now? He has been seen to be most pro-active in many aspects of policing, more specifically in terms of citizen engagement through social media. As such, when the citizens are demanding that the roads be cleared of these largely mafia operations in the name of God, backed additionally by the courts' repeated rulings, one hopes he'll now go all out and do what is needed of him.

The same, if not more, holds true for the footpaths too, where too the courts have issued enough and more directives (check here) to clear all obstructions, hazards and encroachments, and the Commissioner had taken on the ownership too (check here).

Citizens eagerly await action now.