3 min readBhopalUpdated: Aug 24, 2023 11:29 PM IST
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursdsay announced the Hanuman Lok project in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara, a stronghold of former CM Kamal Nath and the home of a 101-foot statue of Lord Hanuman that the Congress leader had built.
Chouhan also announced the creation of a new district, Pandhurna, which will be carved out of Chhindwara district. The tehsils of Pandhurna, Sausar, and Nandnawadi will be merged to form the new district.
The Chief Minister took part in the foundation stone laying ceremony for Hanuman Lok at Jamsavli Hanuman temple in Chhindwara. The project, officials said, would be developed along the lines of the Mahakal Lok corridor.
The project, to be built in two phases, is estimated to cost Rs 314 crore.
“Hanuman Lok will become a centre of spiritual and cultural consciousness for India… With the blessings of Lord Rama, Hanuman Lok is being established in Chhindwara district. I am fully confident that just like Mahakal Lok, Hanuman Lok will also emerge as a centre of faith for millions of devotees. I wish for the blessings of Lord Hanuman to remain on all residents of the state,” Chauhan said.
In the first courtyard of Hanuman Lok, Lord Hanuman’s child form will be depicted in different ways through artwork and sculptures covering an area of approximately 90,000 square feet. The second courtyard will see the portrayal of Lord Hanuman in ‘devotional form’ through sculptures and artwork covering an area of around 62,000 square feet.
According to officials, the main entrance will be inspired by Maratha architecture, and a 500-foot Chiranjivi Path is proposed from the temple.
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The corridor will also have an administrative area comprising offices spread in an area of approximately 37,000 square feet, and an Ayurvedic clinic, which will cover an area of around 5,000 square feet.
Saying that the “river of development is flowing in Chhindwara”, Chouhan announced multiple development projects in the Congress stronghold, including the inauguration of the Machagora Group Water Supply Scheme, estimated to cost more than Rs 848 crore, and aimed at providing water to 711 villages across seven development blocks of the district. He also announced the establishment of a college and an auditorium, as well as the inauguration of 35 new development projects that cost more than Rs 1,178 crore, and another 30 projects that cost more than Rs 258 crore.
The Congress party said the Hanuman Lok project announcement was “a false announcement to mislead the people”.
Congress spokesperson K K Mishra said, “No matter how much the BJP tries to surround Kamal Nath politically, they will fail.”
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Kamal Nath routinely mentions the 101-foot Hanuman statue in his speeches and his image as a devotee of Lord Hanuman has been used by the Congress to counter the BJP’s Hindutva plank.
Targeting Chouhan, Mishra said that while the CM had announced Rs 22 crore for the restoration of Jamsavli Hanuman Temple’s dilapidated door in October 2016, “even after more than seven years, not a single penny has been spent”.
On the creation of the new district, Mishra said it was “part of the Chief Minister’s propaganda campaign”. He said Chouhan has made similar announcements in the past, but have not fulfilled the promises.
