Mathura district administration offers luxury flats to temple priests amid corridor project opposition
LUCKNOW: As the survey of residences and shops in the 22 Kunj Galis (narrow lanes) leading to the Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan continues, 30 per cent of it already completed, the Mathura district administration has prepared an elaborate plan to rehabilitate the sevayats, the Goswamis, who have been openly opposing the Banke Bihari Corridor project.
The plan includes relocating the sevayats to Rukmani Vihar in Vrindavan. The Goswami community, comprising hereditary priests, has been performing religious and priestly duties at the Banke Bihari temple for centuries.
The Supreme Court recently gave the green light to the Banke Bihari Corridor, an ambitious initiative aimed at easing crowd congestion and enhancing the overall pilgrimage experience around the revered shrine. Following this, the state government brought in an ordinance to create a Trust to run the temple and oversee the development of the proposed corridor.
After a visit by Awanish Kumar Awasthi, the special advisor to the Chief Minister, to Vrindavan on June 6, the project gained momentum.
The Mathura Vrindavan Development Authority (MVDA) is working on a two-pronged strategy: first, conducting a survey of Kunj Galis comprising 286 houses and shops, and second, accelerating the rehabilitation of residents from 188 houses to new luxury flats at Rukmani Vihar and Sunrakh Bangar. The administration hopes that offering better accommodation will help pacify the sevayats.
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