'Illegal' wall of 'mazaar' razed in HP's Hamirpur

SHIMLA: Amid the ongoing protests against "illegal" mosques at various places in Himachal Pradesh , the state forest department on Monday demolished a newly-built wall of a ' mazaar ' (shrine) of Lakhdata Peer at Daruhi village in Hamirpur district, after objections were raised by the Hindu community .

As the district administration came to know about escalating tension over the new wall, allegedly built on forest land, they contacted the forest department to check facts, before taking any steps to defuse the situation. Thereafter, a team of forest officials and police reached the spot and demolished the wall. District officials said the situation was under control, and cautioned people against taking the law into their own hands.

Since Hamirpur is Himachal chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu 's home district, he was keeping a close eye on the ground situation.

Meanwhile, commercial establishments in Solan remained closed till afternoon over the Sanjauli mosque issue, and sloganeering traders marched to the deputy commissioner's office. They handed over a memorandum to the district collector, seeking mandatory registration of outsiders starting any business activity in Solan.