Temple and mazaar removed in Delhi's Bhajanpura to pave way for flyover

A temple and a mazaar were removed amid heavy police deployment in northeast Delhi’s Bhajanpura Chowk, to pave the way for the construction of a flyover

A temple and a mazaar were removed amid heavy police deployment in northeast Delhi's Bhajanpura Chowk on the morning of July 2 to pave the way for the construction of a flyover, police said.

They said the decision to remove the two structures was taken at a "religious committee" meeting a few days ago and a proper dialogue was held with the residents and local leaders.

"Everything happened very peacefully," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northeast) Joy Tirkey said after the structures were removed by the Public Works Department (PWD) amid heavy deployment of police.

Mr. Tirkey said there was a Hanuman temple and a mazaar on the opposite sides of the road at Bhajanpura Chowk. A few days ago, a decision was taken at "religious committee" that both the structures would have to be removed to widen the road for the the Saharanpur flyover.

"This was planned a few days ago. But the local leaders here had asked the civil administration for some time to prepare and make some necessary arrangements. Today (Sunday), we spoke to all of them and after having a proper dialogue with them, both the religious structures were removed from here with everyone's cooperation. Even the devotees came here and performed their puja before the removal of the religious structure. The temple was removed by the priest himself," he said.

Police said adequate security force has been deployed in the area to ensure the PWD is provided all the necessary assistance.

Northeast Delhi is considered a communally sensitive area. It witnessed riots in 2020 in which over 50 people lost their lives and more than 250 were injured. Meanwhile, Delhi Cabinet Minister Atishi tweeted about the demolition of the religious structures.