Lankeswar Dham Management Committee urges Kamrup (M) DC to Make it Free from Enrochers

GUWAHATI: The management committee of the ShriShriLankeswarDham has urged the Kamrup (Metro) Deputy Commissioner to make the land of the Dham free from encroachment.

The Lankeswar Dham is one of the oldest Dhams of the State. It has temples of – Shiva, Ganesha, Shani, and Hanuman located on top of a hill in the western part of the Guwahati city near the campus of Gauhati University.

The Dham is not only popular with the religiously inclined people but with the general tourists also. However, the Dham's land has been subjected to encroachment from time to time. Thus, the management committee of the Dham has demanded the Deputy Commissioner's intervention and submitted a memorandum on Friday.

Talking to The Sentinel,president of ShriShriLankeswarDhamAnchalikPrichalana Committee (SSLDAPC) KaminiKantaKalita said, "In the beginning, the Dham had three bighas of land. Later through a gazette notification issued in 1990, the Government allotted 8.3 hectares of land with additional rights for 140 bighas. A portion of the Jalukbari Reserve Forest is attached to the Dham's land but the Forest Department is yet to demarcate the boundaries. Over the time, along with the area of the reserve forest, the land of the Dham is being encroached upon. Based on our complaint, the district administration conducted an eviction drive in 2012. But the encroachers have again started to occupy the Dham's land. Around 10 bighasof land have already been encroached and 10 huts have been constructed on the plot of land."

The management committee has demanded the DC make the land encroachment free and also conduct a demarcation process to identify the boundaries of the Dham and the Forest.

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