The Yogi government razed seven illegal Islamic mazars (mausoleums or shrines) near the holy Govardhan Parvat in Mathura on November 12. These shrines which have been demolished had come up as encroachments around the Govardhan Parvat.
The Govardhan Parvat holds special significance among Hindus. According to the Hindu mythology, Lord Krishna had lifted the hill on just one finger in order to save people from the wrath of Indra, the God of rain, who had landed people of Braj in deep trouble by incessant rains. The hill is popular and spiritually significant among Hindus across India. Hindus go there from all parts of the country to do parikrama of the hill.
There were complaints of illegal encroachments and traffic mismanagement around the holy hill. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) passed an order in 2015, directing the state government to remove all the encroachments around the Govardhan Parvat. This order was passed after an inspection had been conducted in the said area. The report that was endorsed by the NGT recommended designating the parikrama marg around the holy hill as ‘no-construction zone’. The report stated, “A drive may be carried out for the identification of forest land in accordance with demarcation map and all encroachments may be removed in a time-bound manner.” It seems that finally the recommendations of this report which was endorsed by the Tribunal have been put into effect by the Yogi government.
The report had further recommended demolition of any illegal construction that “blocked/obstructed the view to have darshan by the devotees”. The focus of this recommendation was to ease things for the devotees who pay visit to the Govardhan Parvat. The recommendation seeks to ensure that the devotees may get a clear and unobstructed view of the sacred hill. The report also recommended that a 10-meter wide service road be built around the parikrama marg behind the existing Ashramas and a ring road outside the said service road. It further recommended that vehicular traffic should totally be closed on the parikrama marg, with the exception of fire and medical services. Therefore, it means that the parikrama marg is recommended in order to get rid of all vehicular movement, except ambulances and fire engines. Until, Yogi government came to power the situation did not change but now the state government appears committed to abide by the recommendations of the NGT.
Advocate Amit Tiwari, who is associated with the case in NGT, said that initially, the list of encroachments did not include the seven Islamic shrines that have been demolished but were identified near the parikrama marg in an inspection carried out recently.
