Bala Vinayaka temple evicted on court orders

TIRUVANNAMALAI: Amidst tight police security, a temple that was blocking the way in Valayalkara Street in Tiruvannamalai was removed on Tuesday. It is said the Bala Vinayaka temple was constructed by residents of the street where idols of Vinayaka had been kept. One of the residents, Dasarathan who lives behind the temple said it blocked the entrance to his house and approached the Madras High Court a couple of years ago.  In response, the court directed the revenue department to provide him a suitable pathway by removing the temple which had encroached upon public land. He once again approached the HC, when officials were silent on the issue. This time, the court issued a strong direction to the municipality and revenue department to remove encroachments in the street including the temple.Police officers Ramesh and Sekar along with municipal officials led by Commissioner Vijayalakshmi and Tahsildhar Selvaraj where at the scene when the temple was removed and idols shifted to a safe place.  Residents of the area protested the move, but the police were deployed to calm them.