Jain devotees in Surat protest closing of way to upashray

SURAT: Tension gripped Kalpana Society on Rander Road when it was ghearoed by hundreds of Jain devotees here on Saturday morning. They were demanding that the gates of the society, where an upashray is located, be opened for them. The residents had locked the society gates on Friday, alleging that frequent visits by devotees had become a cause of nuisance to them.
Jain devotees, who had gathered there under the aegis of Rander Road Jain Sangh, claimed that the society residents had unlawfully restricted the movement of Jain priests and their followers.
The society has 250 bungalows and on two plots a derasar (temple) and an upashray (a building where Jain priests stay and deliver lectures) have been built by Rander Road Jain Sangh. "Thousands who visit the upashray and derasar block the roads with their vehicles. And then there is the issue of cleanliness too," Kalpana Society Residents' Association president Jitu Patel alleged.
"We had requested the administrators of the derasar and the upashray to do something to redress our grievances, but they had failed to take any action. This forced us to lock one gate of Kalpana Society. They can use the other gate, which is open. We had complained about it in Chief Minister Swagat Online, too, but nothing happened. We now plan to approach the court," Patel said.
Rander Road Jain Sangh president Suresh Shah said, "The gates were locked by the society residents on Friday with a demand that an urgent meeting be held to discuss the issue. We told them that the meeting was only possible if they opened the gates. When they did not agree, we went to police. A compromise was struck later and we will soon hold a meeting with the society representatives to resolve the issue."