Rajkot: Swaminarayan saints and followers have blocked preparations for a Ganesh Utsav event which is going to take place on the open ground of Balaji Mandir like every year, alleged the organizers of Ganesh Utsav.

Gajanan Dham, a religious group organizes Ganesh Utsav at Bhupendra road based Balaji Hanuman mandir for last 12 years. The organizers had called a meeting over a lunch to discuss the preparations for upcoming Ganesh Utsav this year. Some followers of Swaminarayan sect rushed there and asked to wind up the function. After verbal arguments between Swaminarayan followers and Ganesh utsav organizers, more people gathered there and police was called.

According to Kirit Pandhi, the organizer of Gajanan Dham, Ganesh Utsav is organized on Karansinhji High School ground for last 12 years for which Rs. 12,000 rent is paid every year, receipts of which are available. For last fifteen days or so, the ground had lot of sand. A request was made to remove the sand for which Prant officer and Mamlatdar had conducted Panchnama also. After waiting for 15 days, a meeting was called on Thursday, followed by a lunch. The administration has given approval for for Ganesh Utsav.

Bhaveshbhai Pujara, another organizer of Gajanan Dham further said that permission of administration is taken every year and rent is also paid for this place. Vadtal Swaminarayan sect’s Viveksagar swami would come and perform aarti every year. This year also, we have paid rent and obtained approval, but we can’t understand why Viveksagar swami wants to stop Ganesh Utsav.

On the other hand Viveksagar Swami is quoted saying by a local daily that he would allow Ganesh Utsav only at the place permitted by the administration. Swami claimed the possession of said land is with his organization.

However the Ganesh Utsav organizers said the land of Karansinhji High school is 100 percent public owned and belongs to the government. The permission has been obtained after lot of efforts made at the District Education Office.

It is learnt that Swaminarayan organization had initiated illegal construction on the government land without permission, which attracted notice by the Municipal Corporation and eventually a stay order on the construction work. This was challenged by Swaminarayanis in the High Court. A direction by the High Court ordered status quo. However sand and construction material is still lying on the government land. The district collector opined that the district education officer should remove the material from the ground as the land belongs to them. However, as the district education office didn’t clear the land, the organizers of Ganesh Utsav called JCB machine to remove the material. When this task was going on, the Swami called police and stopped efforts to hold Ganesh Utsav, the organizers have alleged.

The Ganesh bhakts protested this and started chanting Ram dhun, as the incident has happened in the backdrop of recent controversy pertaining to distortion of Hanuman ji by Vadtal Swaminarayan sect at Salangpur and remarks regarding Khodiyar mataji, Mahadev Shankar and other Hindu gods by Swaminarayan saints also attracted protests.

The Ganesh utsav oragnizers have alleged that Swaminarayan saints don’t come directly in picture but utilize their connections in police and district offices to block the Ganesh Utsav event to happen on the school ground. The district education officer has played a trick by permitting the event at the parking place of officials on way to Karansinhji school instead of the open ground located next to mandir, the organizers alleged.

One of organizers of Ganesh Utsav said – we had moved High Court by filing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against illegal construction of Balaji mandir of Swaminarayan sect, following which a stay order was given against further construction. When we as the organizers came to organize Ganesh Utsav, the mandir administration ransacked and removed the dome set up for Ganesh Utsav. The ground was earlier dumped with sand and greet. DeshGujarat