Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh): In a two-hour action, the Ujjain Municipal Corporation (UMC) demolished illegal construction in front of the Mahakal temple on Tuesday. This comes ahead of the sawari of Lord Mahakal in the months of Shravan and Bhadav.
The UMC team, along with the Mahakal police, removed more than 200 encroachments from the area, seizing bamboo poles, tarpaulins, carts, kiosks, and counters.
The UMC had served a notice twice to a multi-storey hotel being constructed by one Ashok Joshi, allegedly without permission, in front of Gate No. 4 of the temple. A bulldozer ran over the illegal construction. Joshi’s son Tushar claimed that it was a 150-year-old house. The police had flagged its dilapidated condition, asking them to repair it, but we were not getting permission, he said.
Building officer Deepak Sharma said that Joshi started the construction of the hotel without getting the map approved.
Dress code mandatory for bhajan troops
The Mahakaleshwar Temple Management Committee organised a meeting of the heads of the Bhajan Mandali participating in the sawari of Baba Mahakal. All the nine Bhajan Mandalis were instructed that there will be a dress code for participants as well as a cap on their number.
Tableaus, Shobha Rath, and DJ will be banned in the sawari. The permitted Bhajan Mandali participating in the sawari has been instructed to be present before the scheduled time.
500 Vedic batuks to make ‘udghosh’
The first sawari will have a Vedic Udghosh programme on July 14. On the occasion of the first sawari, more than 500 Vedic Batuks will worship Shri Mahakaleshwar sawari in the form of Udghosh with Vedic mantras during the worship on the banks of Kshipra.
On both sides of the banks of Kshipra, in Datta Akhara area and Ramghat area, Vedas will be recited by more than 500 students from 25 Gurukuls operating in Ujjain. A meeting was held with the managers-acharyas of 25 Gurukuls for Vedic recitation where the Acharyas were given guidelines regarding Ved Ghosh.
