The Jain community members of the Jabalpur city staged a protest after the Municipal Corporation of the city demolished the under-construction Jain Structure of Kirti Stambh that was being built to mark the 50th anniversary of Acharya Vidyasagar Maharaj’s Diksha (initiation to a hermit’s life).

A bandh was announced as indignant Jains hit the streets demanding Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath to suspend the officials responsible for the downing of the Kirti Stambh and reconstruction of it by the government.

The controversy erupted when the Municipal Corporation of Jabalpur demolished the partially constructed Kirti Stambh in Civic Center neighbourhood. The people from the Digambar Jain Community had sought permission to built Kirti Stambh in Civic Center on December 29, 2017. Under resolution 244 of the parliament, the Municipal Corporation had sanctioned them permission on April 6, 2018, and had allotted land of 80 square feet in Civic Center for building the Kirti Stambh.

There is a sense of betrayal among the Jain Community that despite securing requisite approval, their structure was brought down by the Kamal Nath government. On Wednesday, the structure was razed down by the Municipal Corporation without informing the Digambar Jain Community.

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The Jain Community argued that when the permission was also acquired for the construction of Kirti Stambh, why didn’t the Corporation issue a notice to the community that the Stambh is obstructing the Corporation’s work. Following the demolition of the structure, Jain Community called out a bandh on Thursday and organised a rally to register their protest against the corporation’s act. They marched all the way up to Collector Bharat Yadav’s office and handed a memorandum to him, saying if MIC and Commissioner’s permissions were acquired, whether the proceedings by the corporation were justified.

The authorities, on the other hand, claim that along with these permissions, approvals from Dharmasv department and Town and Country department were necessary which weren’t secured.

Livid at the action of the Municipal Corporation, a delegation of Jain met Madhya Pradesh C Kamal Nath on Friday in Bhopal and submitted a memorandum to him. In the memorandum, they have urged the Madhya Pradesh CM to act against the guilty officials and demanded the restoration of the Kirti Stambh by the government. CM Kamal Nath has assured quick action following the investigation into the matter and promised them to deliberate on their demands.