Administration
to replace Lord Mahavira's statue
TNN Aug
26, 2012, 03.12AM IST
Tags:
LUCKNOW: The district authorities will install a
new statue of Lord Mahavira at Mahavira Park. According to district magistrate
Anurag Yadav the idol, that will cost Rs 21 lakh, will be installed within a
week. The idol was damaged by a mob after Alvida namaz last week on Friday,
much to the embarrassment of the state government. The decision to install new
idol of Mahavira was taken after a delegation from 'Indian Jain Prabodhini' met
the DM and raised the demand to install a new idol. Yadav said that the state
government has already directed the culture department to install a new idol.
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Cops yet to make any arrest in Alvida namaz violence
Delay Despite Official Claims That Some Hooligans Identified
Rajiv Srivastava TNN
Lucknow: After slammed by the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court,which
took serious view over the violence that took place after theculmination of
Alvida namaz in the city recently and soughtstate governments reply as to what
actions it has taken for installation of new statues and bringing the culprits
to book,senior officials claimed that a few hooligans have been
identified.However,what is intriguing is that none have been arrested so far.
This assumes serious dimensions,as the group,which had initially given the call
for demonstration to protest against alleged violence in Assam and Burma had
decided not to stage protest after persuasion by the district administration
and police officials.The supporters of the group were duly informed,the police
had then claimed.
It also makesclear thatthe culpritswere noneother than those who wanted to
vitiate the atmosphere and infuse communal hatred in a city known for its
nawabi culture,and brings the police under the scanner as to what is stopping
it to act tough against those who flaunted vandalism to the extent of damaging
the idols of Lord Mahavir and Lord Buddha.
The hooligans strangely didn't stop here,they even manhandled camerapersons and
press photographers who had grabbed their heinous act in their cameras.Their
bid to target scribes is testimony to the fact that they were not serious about
their protest,but only wanted to vitiate the atmosphere, DIG (range ) Navniet
Sekera had told reporters on August 19 and added that is why they either had
covered their faces or wanted camerapersons not to click them indulging in
vandalism.
Sekera also had said that a fewof hooligans,whowereinvolved in making an
attempt todisrupt peace andharmony in the city known for its cultural
values,havebeen identified and said the process to taken direct action against
them will be expedited immediately after Eid.
The action-taking process has been deliberately slowed down in view of the
festival to stop trouble makers to take advantage of the festival in disrupting
peace of the city,Sekera had told mediapersons.He had also assured of
transparent and effective action against all the trouble makers who were
involved in Fridays incident in the city.However,both transparent and effective
action against all the trouble makers is still awaited.Thecourthas posted the
matter for next hearing on August 29.
The dilly-dallying approach adopted by the district and police administration
in the state capital had come for questioning on the day of Alvida namaaz when
the marchers had started from Teelewaali Masjid and moved till Hazratganj
Crossing.The police at most of the places had remained a mute spectator and had
not made a single arrest despite hooligans indulging in vandalism
intermittently.Not only this,the hooligans had crossed Pariwartan Chowk to
reach Hazratganj Crossing without cops even trying to stop them even once.
In fact Sekera while talking to journalists on August 19 had admitted that it
were lapses on the part of the police administration that
allowedhooliganstocrossP ariwartan Chowk and reach till Hazratganj
Crossing.Efforts to contact the DIG (range ) and SSP RK Chaturvedi on Saturday
proved futile.
Admin to replace Lord Mahaviras statue
Lucknow: The district authorities will install a new statue of Lord Mahavira at
Mahavira Park.According to district magistrate Anurag Yadav the idol,that will
cost Rs 21 lakh,will be installed within a week.The idol was damaged by a mob
after Alvida namaz last week on Friday,much to the embarrassment of the state
government.The decision to install new idol of Mahavira was taken after a
delegation from Indian Jain Prabodhini met the DM and raised the demand to
install a new idol.Yadav said that the state government has already directed
the culture department to install a new idol.
Meanwhile,the cash counters at Lucknow Municipal Corporation will remain open
on Sunday between 10am and 3pm to allow people to depositthe house tax.This
will be the last Sunday before August 31 when the scheme to deposit house tax
with 10% rebate will come to a close.TNN
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Repairing 2 vandalised
parks to cost Rs 45 lakh
The last Friday’s vandalism at Gautam Buddha Park
and Haathi Park in the Old City area of Lucknow by a mob has led to a loss of
around Rs 45 lakh to the state exchequer.
According to Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC),
which maintains the Haathi Park, the cost of repairing the damaged structures
at the park will be nearly Rs 25 lakh. The Lucknow Development Authority (LDA),
on the other hand, has estimated the repairing cost of Gautam Buddha Park at
Rs 20 lakh.
The mob, which was protesting against the alleged
atrocities on Muslims in Assam and Myanmar, had damaged various structures,
including the statue of Gautam Buddha inside Buddha park and the statue of
Swami Mahavira at Haathi Park.
LMC junior engineer Malay Kumar Dhar, who had
lodged an FIR on behalf of the LMC at Wazirganj police station, said the
damaged red stone statue of Swami Mahavira will be replaced with a new one and
that will cost around Rs 9 lakh. The elephant statue at the park will also be
repaired. Several benches and lamp posts will have to be replaced, he added.
The LMC started repair work of the entrance gate of the park on Tuesday.
The LDA, which formed a team on Saturday to inspect
Gautam Buddha Park and assess the damage there, said around Rs 15 lakh will be
required to construct a new 125-metre-long reinforced cement concrete wall
around the park as the existing boundary wall has been damaged. “There are some
scratches on the statue of Gautam Buddha which will be repaired. Lamp posts,
benches, railing, grills, various small statues and plants were also damaged in
the park and all will have to be repaired,” said LDA Vice-Chairman Rajneesh
Dube.
LDA officials said minor works would be completed
in three days whereas it will take around three weeks to complete the boundary
wall of Buddha Park.
Dube on Saturday had written a letter to the
Lucknow district administration to take precautionary measures to avoid such
incidents in future. Five FIRs, including one each from LMC and LDA officials,
were lodged at different police stations against unidentified persons in
connection with Friday’s vandalism. But the police are yet to make any arrest.
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