Administrator
16 May 2025
*The Lord Hanuman temple outside Zakir Hussain Park at the tail end of the NHAI’s under construction Flyover.
A Hanuman temple is being constructed by the National Highway Authority of India( NHAI)near Naga Baba Khatal in Ranchi. The walls have been built and the roof is under construction to cover the idol of Lord Hanuman.
The Hanuman temple in the making( see the picture 3) is part of the restoration( read rehabilitation) of the Hanuman temple nearby, as per the deal between the priest of this temple and the road builder of the NHAI.
The priest’s Hanuman temple falls on the land acquired by the NHAI for construction of the Flyover covering 7 kilometers (3.76 km) in length.
The construction of this flyover started in 2021. The elevated corridor over Ratu road, beginning from near Piska More and ending near office of the Deputy Commissioner, is being built at a cost of around Rs 558 crore( including land acquisition cost).
*Another Hanuman Temple is coming up at Elbert Ekka Chowk, the city centre of Ranchi.
The Hanuman temple put up a blockade for the implementation of this mega flyover. Finally, a verbal agreement was reached between the flyover builder and the priest, having scores of followers of Lord Hanuman.
As per their agreement, the fly over construction work will start and end after the new temple is constructed; priest’s temple demolished;and sanctorum of the idol of Lord Hanuman shifted there. The terms and conditions are being followed in letter and spirit of their agreement, it is learnt.
“Very soon, the idol of Hanumanji will be placed on the new temple”, said the priest who does not want to be named.
Incidentally, this is not an isolated case of testoration(rehabilitation) of the Hanuman temple in the capital city of Jharkhand.After a plan to construct the multi -storey building of Ranchi Municipal Corporation( RMC) took off on a plot of the government land near office of the Deputy Commissioner where a vegetable market thrived with the Hanuman temple in 2016, an agreement was made between its priest and the contractor.
Before the construction of the new building started, a new temple was built on its left side and the idol of Lord Hanuman was rehabilitated there in 2019. This temple stands still with followers of Hanuman offering prayer every day.
A random survey conducted by a group of school students revealed that more than 85 Hanuman temples marked the urban experience of Ranchi. The city is one of the major commercial centers and the largest in the state of Jharkhand. It has an official and fast-growing population of over two million residents.
In normal times, it is witnessing the construction and development of a Smart City. In fact, Ranchi was selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under PM Narendra Modi's flagship Smart Cities Mission.
Yet, there is something conservative and staid about its cultural scene, meaning that despite the general perception of urbanisation, many of its younger residents across class divisions frequently aspire to move to other large urban centers in India or even to international destinations like Dubai,London or New York.
*The Lord Hanuman temple is being constructed by the NHAI’s builder to restore ( rehabilitate )the old Hanuman Mandir outside Zakir Hussain Park.
Though no new industry and factories have been set up to contain the old menace of migration of work force, Hanuman temples have mushroomed across Ranchi, each serving as the embodiment of devotion, courage,selfless service and hope for these youths.
The truth is in this ‘secular’ world where land laws are to be followed by all residents, all these Hanuman temples were built and restored on the government land.Is this legal?
