Municipal officials demolished a temple and a church which were constructed on encroached land in Railpet on Thursday. The church was constructed six years ago on a area of about 400 square yards and half of it was encroached. Taking cue, some people encroached upon the land across the road and constructed houses. To protect their houses, they planned a temple. The installed Nagendraswamy idol on a raised platform and laid pillars to convert it into a temple.
Following objections raised by some local people over the encroachments, municipal officials swung into action. Municipal Commissioner Ch Anuradha descended on the site with police force and ordered demolition. She brushed aside the contention of the church officials that they had registered documents to claim the land. She made it clear that half of the land was encroachment as per land records available with the Municipality and the building should be removed to that extent. The entire operation of demolition was completed less than an hour.