SDMC's Demolition Men Stopped In Their Tracks

SHAHEEN BAGH: Case Registered Against AAP MLA On Corpn's Complaint

- Vibha.Sharma

New Delhi: SDMC's anti-encroachment drive reached Shaheen Bagh on Monday afterword was received at 10.40 am that police force had been made available, but the corporation’s bulldozer and staff reached the site much before the cops could join them, giving enough time to residents to mobilise a crowd with some gathering around the bulldozer and others squatting on the road.

A corporation official said since the availability of police was confirmed late, the drive too got a bit delayed. When they finally wanted to act, they faced massive resistance. “Due to stiff resistance from the locals and political leaders, it was getting difficult to carry out any action," said the official. AAP and Congress functionaries had turned up by then to oppose the drive.

Area councillor Abdul Wazid Khan, who claimed to have reached the site at 9.30 am with the locals, said that they had questioned senior officials of the civic body and the DCP about the objective of the drive. “We asked them to provide details of properties which would face action but there was no response. This has forced us to protest for our people,” he claimed.

Amidst all this drama, police and paramilitary forces managed to remove people, and the bulldozer, along with two trucks, moved to the other side of GD Birla Road to begin the drive. The protesters then marched on the road and soon caught up with the squad. Even as this drama was unfolding, the bulldozer reached a building with scaffolding.