4 hours Ago
1 2 3 Ludhiana: A protest by residents of Jain Colony and Bhagya Homes , who blocked the main road, sent the area around Rahon Road into a tizzy at around 8am on Monday. The irate residents were protesting against the demolition of the main gate and boundary wall of their housing complexes, both of which shared a gate and boundary wall. They alleged that this had been done to benefit a realtor developing another colony.
IPL 2025 mega auction IPL Auction 2025: Who went where and for how much IPL 2025: Complete list of players of each franchise Fuming over the MC action, they claimed that it had jeopardised at least 800 families of residents. The MC demolition drive allegedly started in the wee hours, when most residents were still asleep. Supported by police personnel, civic body teams started demolishing the main gate and boundary wall with machines, tippers and fire brigade.
They were through before residents could make sense of what was going on. When residents came to know, they gathered in large numbers and even gheraoed the machinery brought by MC teams. As they questioned the drive, asserting that the colonies had been developed legally, the MC officials allegedly beat a hasty retreat.
Colonisers Manmohan Kumar and Rakesh Kumar said that at least 800 families lived in both colonies. They claimed that for the past over one year, attempts were being made to dismantle the wall to facilitate the colony being developed at the backside. Meanwhile, protesting women said that since they go out to work, leaving their children at home, a walled and gated community was a vital security measure.
They rued that with the gates and wall removed, they would not be able to go to work with a free mind and that vehicles would pass through the area freely, further endangering children. Citing safety concerns, residents started constructing the boundary wall demolished by authorities. The Leisure Valley, which had been constructed by LIT, was also damaged in the process.
A senior MC official said that the demolition was done to open an alternative route and ease traffic snarls at Rahon Road, Tibba Road and Tajpur Road. He added that if the wall was removed, people would get easy access to Tajpur Road from Tibba Road and further till Chandigarh Road. He denied that the demolition drive had been carried out to help a realtor.
According to him, if the colony was part of a government regularisation process and the MC was providing basic amenities, then it had a right on the site under the MC Act. Political blame game starts When news of the drive reached political parties, local leaders turned up at the spot. Former MLA from Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Ranjit Singh Dhillon arrived at the site and condemned the ruling party for the act.
Claiming that officials were acting under political pressure, he said that he had never seen MC teams bringing material to construct the road after dismantling the wall to give access to the colony. He demanded a probe into the matter saying that officials were positing different theories to prove that the demolition drive was legal. He also asked CM Bhagwant Mann to take action.
Former MLA from Congress and district Congress Committee president Sanjay Talwar asked how MC officials could give access to any private colony from Leisure Valley, which was developed at a cost of Rs 8 crore by Ludhiana Improvement Trust. Meanwhile, MLA from East constituency, Daljit Singh Grewal said, “This step has been taken to come up with an alternate route for public welfare. People waste a lot of time after getting stuck in traffic jams in these areas.
We have no concern with any private colony.”.
