‘A house 7 km away does not mean home': Residents protest as Vrindavan temple corridor work begins

Indian Express

10-07-2025

PROTESTS over the Uttar Pradesh government's plans to build a corridor for the Banke Bihari Temple in Varanasi have got a new lease of life due to remarks by BJP leader and Mathura MP Hema Malini.
Four days ago, a video surfaced of Malini, the local MP, saying: 'Banke Bihari Corridor will be constructed. Those opposing it can be shifted somewhere else. We will make the corridor for sure.' Residents facing displacement had earlier met Malini to air their grievances, and had been assured that their demands would be considered.
Soon after, the BJP issued an official statement saying the video of Malini was not new, but taken before the Lok Sabha election of 2024, and that 'it is not complete but edited'. The statement quoted the MP as saying 'she has complete understanding of Brijwasis' faith.
While The Indian Express could not reach Malini despite several attempts, the uncertainty of residents such as Radha Mishra, 54, and her neighbours has grown.
Mishra lives in a four-storey building just 10 metres from Gate No. 5 of the Banke Bihari Temple, past a rusting iron gate. Against the peeling paint of the walls of her house, a portrait of 'Banke Bihari', revered as the combined form of Krishna and Radha, stands out.
'I came to this house in 1982 after marriage. We also own five shops nearby. The rent pays for our dal-roti. Where will we go if they break our house?' Mishra says, her face pale against her yellow sari.
The Supreme Court nod for the project to develop a 'Banke Bihari Corridor', for the benefit of devotees, came on May 15. The Court also allowed the government to utilise temple funds to purchase 5 acres to build the corridor, at an estimated cost of around Rs 1,000 crore.
This was a modification of an Allahabad High Court order which had accepted the government's development plan but barred access to temple funds. The temple priests are opposed to the government accessing the funds, seeing it as an erosion of their traditional authority over the running of the religious place.
The plan is to have a corridor on the lines of the one at Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi, also built under the BJP government.
Within days of the Court order, the Yogi Adityanath government passed an ordinance to set up a trust to manage the Banke Bihari temple and to oversee the development of the corridor. The families displaced would be rehabilitated in Rukmini Vihar and Sunrakh Bangar areas of the Mathura-Vrindavan region, 7 km away, the government announced.
District Magistrate, Mathura, Chandra Prakash Singh says the changes are needed to cater to an increasing footfall. 'The number of visitors on a normal day is between 30,000 and 60,000, and on festivals goes up to 3 lakh. The lanes around the temple are too narrow to handle this huge number,' says the DM.
Three years ago, the Banke Bihari Temple saw a stampede during the Janmashtami rush, killing three dead and leaving seven injured.
Nimish Goswami, 32, says they are in the dark even on details of the compensation. 'They are telling us they will give us a flat. I spent about Rs 1.12 crore to build this house. We have 24 members here. How many flats will the government give us? Can we continue to live as a joint family?'
Asking why the circle rates had not been increased for years if this was the government plan, causing a loss to home owners like them, Goswami says: 'No one asked us (anything), and when we go to the authorities, they don't meet us. Then they say they have the people's support! We will never support this.'
The vice-chairman of the Mathura-Vrindavan Development Authority (MVDA), Shyam Bahadur Singh, says four large plots have been earmarked for the Rukmini Vihar housing scheme. Around 350 one- and two-bedroom flats will be constructed initially, he says.
'If needed, additional land in the vicinity will be identified. Efforts are also being made to gain the consent of remaining stakeholders,' he says, adding that they are ensuring that relief reaches all. 'The verification that was carried out two years ago, is now being redone… We are taking every aspect into consideration, if the house is used for business, or is occupied by the owner, how many storeys.'
Asserting that 'no one is protesting against the corridor, not even those affected', the DM adds that all genuine demands are being looked into. 'People will also be allocated shops in the developed corridor.'
Awanish Kumar Awasthi, advisor to CM Adityanath, has also been deputed by the government to bring residents around.
For many, it's more than about houses – it's the loss of tradition. Goswami's 81-year-old father, Manmohan, is one of the sevayats at the Banke Bihari Temple. Says Goswami: 'My father does not touch anybody or anything before touching the idol. We clear the roads when he walks to the temple. If we are shifted 7 km away, how will we sustain his beliefs?'
Around 1,500 such sevayats have been staying in lanes adjacent to the temple premises for generations.
Anant Kumar Gaud, 34, says he is a 12th-generation sevayat. He says government officials 'forcibly' entered his house to take measurements. 'We were born here… the house has memories of our forefathers. Giving us a house 7 km away will not make it home.'
Brij Krishna, 58, also a sevayat, says: 'People in these lanes believe that one day Krishna will take human form. Their attachment with God is different… The government is doing what Hiranyakashipu did to Prahlad.' The reference is to the mythological story about a boy whose belief in God was severely tested, before God came to save him.
Criticising the project, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai says that in the name of development, 'destruction' is taking place. 'This is similar to what happened in Varanasi (during the corridor development)… There are temples located inside houses which are over 100 and 500 years old,' says Rai, who belongs to the Varanasi region himself.
Samajwadi Party leader Sanjay Lathar, who was earlier the Leader of the Opposition, UP Legislative Council, asks why the BJP government does not begin with the Gorakhnath Temple if such changes are needed. The difference is that Adityanath is the mahant of the Gorakhnath Temple, Lathar says, adding: 'A temple belongs to people and no trust should take over. Power should be with sevayats who have taken care of the temple for years.'
At the spot, the survey work is happening at a steady pace. Tehsildar Saurav Yadav says they have finished surveying more than 30 houses and several shops attached to them. 'We are ensuring there is no discrepancy.'
The outlets being surveyed include small eateries, flower shops, and those that sell items such as portraits of Krishna, which are all dependent on the devotees visiting the shrine. Some of these shops have been run by the same families for generations.
Kusum Devi's husband Hote Chand has run his barber shop for 40 years. 'Two days ago, officials came and took measurements of my house. They knocked and I let them in. Sarkari log hain, bahas nahin kar sakte (They are government officials, we can't argue with them),' says the 55-year-old.