Forest dept removes illegal shops near Chandi Devi temple

Haridwar: The forest department has removed over a dozen shops illegally built on forest land near the Chandi Devi temple on the Haridwar-Nazibabad highway. Shyampur forest range officer Y S Rathore told TOI that the shops were removed on instructions from Haridwar divisional forest officer (DFO).
The shopkeepers resisted the attempts of the forest department but had to leave after a while, said a forest department official.
Meanwhile, Rathore also told TOI that the famous Kali Mandir and Neeleshwar Mandir on the foothills of Neel Parvat (on which Chandi Devi temple also stands) have been fined Rs 25,000 each for not appearing in court in a case filed by an NGO against them for allegedly violating certain forest department norms.