Tuesday, 25 JUNE 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) started its demolition drive on the Rispana river bed on Monday to remove encroachments constructed after 2016. It demolished a total of 26 structures on the first day in the Kathbangla slum of the Rajpur area amid strong protests from locals. The officials said that the MDDA had sought six PAC companies from the police which were provided to them on Monday for safe conduct during the drive. The team reached the site at 10 AM. Initially, the locals staged a protest and gathered around their houses to stop authorities from demolishing them. However, the police removed the protestors from the site after which, the team started demolishing the marked structures. Following this, many people started vacating their houses. Many families along with small children could be seen crying near their demolished houses. Many claimed that they have been living there for about two decades but they were able to afford to have a power connection only in recent years. Since they did not possess electricity bills and water connection bills before 2016, MDDA demolished their houses, they claimed. A man Ram Lal said while crying, “I had bought the land here 10 years ago and spent the entire savings in building this house. Why the government did not stop us at that time? Where will I go now with my four children? Where will my old parents go?” The officials said that they had issued notices to people residing in marked encroachments about one month ago to give them sufficient time to raise objections and make respective arrangements. Talking about the drive, they said that MDDA demolished 26 structures that mainly included houses and small shops. The drive was conducted safely in the presence of over 500 PAC personnel till 4 PM. The MDDA will continue this drive on Tuesday. It is expected to run for the next three to four days till the demolition of about 225 structures. After demolishing all marked encroachments, the authorities will file the final action report against encroachment on the Rispana river bed by June 30, the officials added.
