15 hours Ago
Vadodara: The Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) continued its drive against encroachments in the sensitive areas of the city. On Thursday, the drive extended to the old city areas even as teams revisited the areas it had covered earlier. Razing teams of the civic body removed encroachments in Dudhwala Mohalla , Patthar Gate, and Mangalbazaar areas of the city in the first half of the day.
The drive met with objections and resistance in some pockets, but the city police ensured that there was no escalation. The drive began in Nagarwada area where the son of a former corporator was murdered, but it has now extended to other areas too. While Dudhwala Mohalla is a sensitive area, Patthar Gate located near it is a bicycle market where bicycle dealers occupy space on the footpath as well as the road to keep bicycles and other material.
Dudhwala Mohalla also witnesses a heavy rush at night at the eateries and tea stalls there. Mangalbazaar, which is the busiest shopping district in the old city, has narrow lanes, and even these are occupied by street vendors or shops that keep material in the lanes. Despite periodic drives, encroachments keep returning here.
A VMC official said that the encroachment squads and city police took another round of Bhutadi Jhampa, Machhipith, and Nagarwada areas in the second half of the day. Drives were conducted in these areas on Tuesday and Wednesday. This was done to ensure that encroachments did not return to these areas.
The teams also removed encroachments from Kirti Stambh area. In all, 20 truckloads of material, including handcarts and cabins, were removed on Thursday. Sources said that the drive is expected to continue in the coming days.
BOX Head: Accused walks, raises eyebrows On Monday, when murder accused Babar Pathan was seen by the media, he was not even able to stand on his legs and was held by two policemen. But much to the surprise of some activists, he was able to walk straight and even briskly on Thursday. "Police seem to have some medicine that can take care of aches in no time," said activist Atul Gamechi.
Advocate and former Congress activist Shailesh Amin also noted that when Babar was produced in court on Tuesday, he was unable to put his feet on the ground, but was walking briskly now. BOX Head: Atmosphere of fear, says letter Gujarat general secretary of the Jamiat-Ulama-E-Hind, Professor Nisarahmed Ansari, has written a letter to the state director general of police (DGP), stating that the combing operation by personnel of Karelibaug police station was creating an atmosphere of fear. The letter, written on Tuesday, began circulating on social media on Thursday.
Ansari said that he wrote the letter but did not circulate it. Former mayor Sunil Solanki shared the letter on a social media platform, criticising the organisation. He said that people should support police.
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