As per officials, the drive was conducted to demolish the upper structures of three shops that had come up outside the Lal Dora limit of the village. (File)A demolition drive at Khuda Jassu village of Chandigarh triggered massive protests from locals of the area, who later squatted on the main road leading to New Chandigarh, leading to massive traffic jams.
Officials said that the demolition drive was started around 9 am and concluded at around 2 pm on Saturday.
A heavy police force was rushed to the area later to pacify the agitated villagers, with some reports stating that security personnel had to resort to using mild force after minor scuffles broke out between the protesters and police personnel in the area. The protests were later called off after senior police officers pacified the residents.
A number of local politicians, including Congress leader Harmohinder Singh Lucky, came out in support of protesting villagers, who claimed that the demolition drive was illegal.
As per officials, the drive was conducted to demolish the upper structures of three shops that had come up outside the Lal Dora limit of the village. Officials added that four tin sheds in the area, under which bricks, sand and gravel had been stored, were also razed on Saturday. The drive was held under the supervision of local SDM Sanyam Garg.
“The shop owners had been informed in advance about their illegal structures and the decision to pull them down. The unauthorized structures were razed. People tried to intervene during the drive. The police had been informed well in advance about the scheduled drive. The drive against illegal structures will continue in the coming days,” Tehsildar Mandip Dhillon said.
Residents, on the other hand, maintained that at least 22 villages came under the ammbit of Chandigarh Municipal Corporation and they had been paying tax to the civic body.
Sources in the Estate Office said, “Owners constructed residential complexes on top of their shops, which is not allowed under the law. In the recent past, similar drives have been conducted in Kishangarh, Attawa, Daria, Khuda Ali Sher and other villages”.
A police officer said, “We had set up barricades on the road adjoining the shops to prevent any untoward incidents.
Locals of the area, however, came out on the road to protest on Saturday. They later called off their protest after being pacified.”