VALPOI
Mahajans on Tuesday stopped the Sattari Mamlatdar from reopening the Shantadurga Kelbai Devasthan in Maloli-Nagargao on grounds that due intimation was not given to them and a meeting has now been convened on Sunday to discuss the issue.
Sattari Deputy Collector Praveen Parab ordered the closure of the temple about five months ago on account of differences between two groups over the right to conduct rituals in the temple.
Several meetings were conducted by authorities with the two groups.
Parab directed the reopening of the temple on July 7 and acting on the order, the Mamlatdar Kaushik Desai and a police team had gone to the site to reopen the temple.
However, some Mahajans objected to the reopening of the temple, claiming that other Mahajans were not intimated about the decision to reopen the temple.
As a result, the temple was not opened and it was decided to convene a meeting on Sunday to discuss the reopening of the temple.
Meanwhile, devotees have welcomed plans to reopen the temple after a gap of five months and have demanded that the temple be reopened as soon as possible.
