The South Central Railway stated on Friday that it had reclaimed 4,867 sq. metres of prime land worth ₹50 crore, which had been under encroachment for the past 70 years, near the coaching depot at Bhoiguda beside the Rail Kalarang.
Illegal occupants of the land had, by approaching the courts, thwarted the efforts of the railway officials to get the land vacated. Despite the High Court dismissing all the petitions, the encroachers had built tin-roof sheds in the interregnum and began converting the place into a religious one, besides conducting some ‘tantric’ rites.
Finally, in the last week of June this year, the High Court ruled in favour of the railways. This was because of the relentless efforts by counsel R.S. Murthy, who had been fighting the case for the last 20 years, according to railway officials. Additional divisional railway manager P. V. Sai Prasad, also the estate officer, ordered takeover of the land and the same was done with the help of railway police and the Gopalapuram police.
General Manager Vinod Kumar Yadav appreciated the efforts of railway staff and officers in reclaiming the land, an official spokesman said in a press release.