Panchkula Police personnel's removing the tents of protesting residents of trans-Ghaggar sectors near Jhuriwala Dumping ground on Sunday night. (Express Photo)The Panchkula Municipal Corporation on Monday cleared mounds of garbage from all the sectors of the city, hours after a police team had cleared protesters from the Jhuriwala dumping ground with the use of water cannons.
Panchkula Police, in an early morning crackdown on Monday, had let loose water cannons to push back protesters, who under the banner of Sangram Jhuriwala Dumping Ground Samiti (Jhuriwala Dumping Ground Struggle Committee), had since Friday been demanding the immediate shifting of the dump ground from their area.
The protesters, mostly residents of the trans-Ghaggar river sectors, had stopped garbage vehicles from dumping waste at the dumping ground, leading to mounds of garbage getting accumulated across Panchkula.
On Monday morning, the Panchkula Police cleared the protest site and seized tents, loudspeakers, sound system, chairs, utensils. As per details, at least 100 protesters were present at the site at the time of the police crackdown, which was conducted under the supervision of DCP Surinder Singh, and ACP Raj Kumar Kaushik.
The deputy commissioner of Panchkula Municipal Corporation, Deepak Sura, as well as other civic body officials were also present at the spot as the police cleared the protest site.
Later, Panchkula Mayor Kulbhushan Goyal said, “Cleanliness of Panchkula has always been our priority. Today, we cleared tons of garbage from various sectors and dumped it in the dumping ground. We are committed to providing a clean city for the residents. We will soon look for an alternative site for the dumping ground as per demands of the trans-Ghaggar residents.”
A civic body official said, “The crackdown was launched because protesters were not allowing garbage vehicles to dump waste at the dumping ground, which had resulted in garbage accumulating on the streets of Panchkula for the last 48 hours, leading to chaos. The administration does not have a problem with peaceful protests. But the protesters were stopping civic body employees from performing their duty”.
Before the crackdown, deputy commissioner of the municipality Deepak Sura assured the protesters that the administration will find a solution to their problems within 15 days. However, he refused to give any written assurance.
Advocate Nitesh Mittal, who is a office bearer of the Sangram Jhuriwala Dumping Ground Samiti, said, “I tried to contact Sura on Sunday to work out a solution. However, he failed to respond. Later, he launched a crackdown and seized tents, loudspeakers, chairs, mats, tables, and utensils. Our protests were peaceful. But the administration claimed that we were blocking the National Highway and used force to clear us out.”