More than 1,300 houses were demolished as part of a massive demolition drive launched by civic authorities in Gujarat’s Rajkot on Tuesday to clear illegal settlements along the Aji River.
The demolition drive, the largest ever by the Rajkot Municipal Corporation, was carried out amid tight security measures, with more than 2,500 police personnel deployed, news agency PTI reported.
Notices have been issued to around 1,500 properties, which included around 681 houses along the riverbank, Deputy Municipal Commissioner Mahesh Jani told PTI. Of these, RMC demolished around 1,350 houses along the Aji River as of 2 pm on Tuesday, civic chief Tushar Somera told PTI.
Local police, surveillance teams, drone monitoring units, Special Operations Group personnel, Quick Response Teams (QRT) and State Reserve Police Forces were present at the site to ensure the peaceful completion of the flight.
The 2.5 km Jungleshwar area along the river will be covered in the demolition drive, as more than 1,400 of the total illegal settlements are located there.
Displaced people to be accommodated under the housing scheme: Municipal Commissioner D
He stressed that the municipality is steadfast in removing illegal settlements, noting that displaced families will be accommodated within the housing scheme. Jani said that a new road will be developed there within a week, as planned.
The demolition process is taking some time due to the presence of multi-storey buildings and luxury bungalows, which are also being demolished, news agency PTI reported. For the demolition, the area was divided into seven zones, with first-class officers and technical teams deployed to lead.
More than 260 machines are in use, including JCBs, tractors, crushers and dump trucks. More than 65 earthmoving machines and very large hydraulic excavators were deployed to demolish the luxury huts, according to PTI.
Deputy Municipal Commissioner Jani said the demolition process had been peaceful so far, and there had been strong local cooperation during the campaign.
