60 houses encroaching Jayakwadi north demolished by irrigation officials

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

The Department of Irrigation launched a campaign from Friday to demolish encroached houses in the Jayakwadi Dam area. Over the course of the day, with the help of 15 JCBs and the deployment of hundreds of police personnel, 60 houses were razed. As a result, several families were left homeless, and many were seen in tears while watching their homes being demolished.

The houses in the North and South colonies, built in 1967-68 for officers and staff after the construction of the dam, were demolished. Currently, no officers or employees reside there; instead, a few citizens and retired staff have been living there for many years.

Of these, 450 houses in the North colony and 150 in the South colony were encroached. The DoI had previously issued notices to the occupants to vacate the premises. However, residents requested the administration to postpone the demolition until after their children completed their 10th and 12th grade exams. Despite this, the administration started demolition from the northern side on Friday with heavy police deployment and the assistance of 15 JCBs. From early morning, many residents began shifting their belongings. Many hotels in the area voluntarily removed their encroachments. The demolitions caused visible distress; women and children were also seen crying. In total, 60 houses were demolished during the day.

Efforts to obtain stay were of no use

As the campaign to remove encroachments in Jayakwadi colonies was set to begin from Friday, many residents appealed to MLAs and ministers to grant a stay at least until their children completed exams. Some even approached ministers in Nagpur during the winter session and held meetings with the administration. However, no stay was granted.

Heavy police deployment

For the anti-encroachment drive, a total of 101 police personnel were deployed under the supervision of assistant police inspector (API) Ishwar Jagdale of MIDC Police Station, along with 8 police officers, 47 male constables, 28 female constables, and 2 RCP teams (including 26 police personnel).