Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday performed the groundbreaking ceremony of the Shri Hanuman Lok at the Jam Sanwali Hanuman Temple in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara district. He also announced that a new district would be carved out from Chhindwara.
The Shri Hanuman Lok would be completed in two phases and besides sculptures and artwork depicting the Hindu deity Lord Hanuman, it will also include an open stage, an Ayurvedic clinic, community centre and other facilities for the devotees. The work of the first phase will span an area of approximately 26.50 acres and over ₹35 crores will be spent on the development of it, said a statement from the government.
“With the blessings of Ram, Shri Hanuman Lok is going to be built in Jamsanwali of Chhindwara district. I have full faith that like Mahakal Lok, Shri Hanuman Lok will also emerge as the centre of faith of crores of devotees. I wish that the blessings of Hanumanji remain on all the people of the State,” said the Chief Minister.
Even as the projects get under way ahead of elections that are due a few months later, the choice of Chhindwara – which has remained a fortress for former Chief Minister and MP PCC Chief Kamal Nath for a long time – is understood to be as an attempt to challenge the image of Mr. Nath as a Hanuman Bhakt or an ardent devotee of Lord Hanuman. It was he who got constructed a Hanuman temple in Simariya near Chhindwara town, best known for its 101-feet high idol of the deity, that also served as the venue for a Katha held by Dhirendra Shastri of Bagheshwar Dhan on the invitation of the Nath family.
The CM also participated in the State Level Rozgar Diwas [Employment Day] function and Chief Minister’s Ladli Bahna Sammelan in Chhindwara on Thursday, while also inaugurating other projects and development works He also announced that a new college and auditorium will come up in the district.
With both Assembly and Lok Sabha polls on the horizon, these projects as well as the decision to create a new district out of Chhindwara, currently the largest in the State, are also aimed at breaching what has virtually been an impregnable fortress for the Congress throughout several decades. Earlier this week, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said that he hoped that the BJP would get the only remaining seat [Chhindwara, the party won 28 out of 29 in the 2019 general elections] in 2024.
Meanwhile, the Congress alleged that the announcement to make a new district Pandhurna – which would be the 55th if created – wasn’t a new one. Peeyush Babele, the media advisor to Mr. Nath, shared an old news clip claiming that Mr. Chouhan had made the announcement first in 2008.
