PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Ramnagar
Fifty one illegal structures were demolished and about 25 hectares of land was freed from encroachment in the Puchhdi village here on Sunday morning. A joint team of the local administration, Forest department and police carried out a large-scale demolition drive in the area which saw a total of 51 temporary and permanent structures being demolished in the reserved forest area. The entire region was divided into five zones and nine sectors and the operation began at around 5 AM.
A night before the action, police had erected barricades on the main road leading to the village to restrict movement. Considering the sensitivity of the situation, media personnel were also stopped from entering the area. The demolition began with a concrete house in the Bihari Tappar locality. During the drive, an illegal mosque was also demolished. Senior officials including the superintendent of police (City) Jagdish Chandra, sub divisional magistrate Pramod Kumar, divisional forest officer Prakash Chandra Arya, and CO Sumit Pandey, along with a large police force, were present at the site.
During the operation, the administration also freed one hectare of encroached land belonging to the municipal council and handed it back to the civic body. Activists from Krantikari Lokadhikar Sangathan, UPPA and other groups attempted to reach the spot to oppose the demolition. Police detained around half a dozen protestors for trying to disrupt the proceedings.
Meanwhile, the DFO said that multiple notices had been issued earlier to remove long-standing encroachments in the upper Kosi block. Following eviction orders and court directives, around 25 hectares of land were finally freed from encroachment today.
On the other hand, some protesters including Prabhat Dhyani alleged that the administration did not maintain transparency during the demolition drive. Keeping the media away from the site indicates that the entire process may not have been conducted strictly according to rules, he opined.
He added that before displacing such a large population, the government should have framed a clear rehabilitation policy.
