India News | Priests, Shopkeepers Observe Bandh to Oppose Development Plan of Tulja Bhavani Temple
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Priests and shopkeepers in the vicinity of the famous Tulja Bhavani temple in Maharashtra's Tuljapur observed a bandh on Wednesday to oppose the government's plan to develop the shrine, the priests' association said.
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Oct 11 (PTI) Priests and shopkeepers in the vicinity of the famous Tulja Bhavani temple in Maharashtra's Tuljapur observed a bandh on Wednesday to oppose the government's plan to develop the shrine, the priests' association said.
The district administration plans to develop the temple precincts for an estimated Rs 1,300 crore.
Kishor Gagne, head of the association, told PTI, “The ‘darshan mandap' will be made far from the temple, while devotees will have to come to the shrine from the rear entry under the new plan. Also, the parking space will be a distance from the darshan mandap. We want the mandap to be near the temple.”
He claimed that about 5,000 shops near the temple took part in Wednesday's protest.
Gagne said that the current administrative building of the temple should be used as the darshan mandap, where devotees assemble before they finally get to offer prayers to the deity.
“Devotees currently enter from Raje Shahaji gate and go through ‘gaumukh'. They then take the darshan of Lord Ganesha before entering the temple. This practice should continue as it is,” he added.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)