Ramgarh: The Ramgarh administration started eviction drive around the Chhinnamastika Temple in Rajrappa on Thursday, following the Jharkhand high court’s order to pave way for the beautification project. The drive continued on Friday. So far, over 200 illegal constructions have been razed amid heavy security deployment in the area.Ramgarh sub-divisional officer (SDO) Anurag Kumar Tiwari said that 254 illegal shops were identified on the temple premises and were served eviction notices.“We gave them a deadline to vacate voluntarily before April 16 before announcing launch of the drive,” he said. Chitarpur circle office Deepak Minj had served notices on March 25 giving the shopkeepers a month to vacate the premises.The HC had on April 1 directed tourism secretary Mukesh Kumar and Ramgarh deputy commissioner Faiz Aq Ahmed Mumtaz to conduct a survey of the temple premises and submit a beautification proposal to the court.“The temple located on the confluence of the Damodar and Bhairavi rivers is proposed to be developed as a global tourist destination on the lines of the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu & Kashmir,” said an official.Dilip Kumar Sao, who operates a hotel opened by his father 70 years ago, said that he along with others had sought rehabilitation before eviction as shopkeepers had deposited Rs 1,000 to the authorities in 1996 for setting up outlets in the complex developed by the administration. “But authorities didn’t hear our pleas,” he claimed.Rajrappa temple is among five destinations which are being developed by the tourism department. The others are Baba Baidyanath Dham in Deoghar, Parasnath Temple in Giridih, Bhadrakali Temple at Itkhori in Chatra and Anjan Dham in Gumla.
