Tungareshwar razing: Stir chokes highway, traffic hit for 3 hours

Devotees blocked the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway at Ghodbunder Road in Thane for more than three hours on Friday to protest the demolition of the Balyogi Shri Sadanand

Devotees blocked the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway at Ghodbunder Road in Thane for more than three hours on Friday to protest the demolition of the Balyogi Shri Sadanand Maharaj Ashram.

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The devotees held placards and raised slogans against the demolition. “Some minor clashes were also reported in Nallasopara and Naigaon as the devotees clashed with the police force deployed on the way to the Tungareshwar wildlife sanctuary,” said a senior Virar police official.

Meanwhile, the driver of a Poclain machine who was carrying out the demolition work was injured on Friday when some material from the ashram fell on him.

The driver was rushed to a trauma hospital located on the highway and is reported to have sustained multiple fractures, including on his skull.

On Wednesday, the trust of the ashram itself completed the demolition of an under-construction, one-storey dormitory at the complex.