Drive against illegal dairy runs into rough weather, LMC team assaulted by mob
The drive to remove illegal dairies, already delayed, was abruptly called off following the assault. The incident highlights the growing challenge faced by civic teams tasked with clearing over 1,200 illegal dairies in Lucknow
LUCKNOW A team of the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) was brutally assaulted by a mob allegedly led by Samajwadi Party corporator Pankaj Yadav while removing an illegal dairy at Kanchana Behari Marg in the state capital on Friday, where the mob also freed the captured animals, said officials.
The drive to remove illegal dairies, already delayed, was abruptly called off following the assault. The incident highlights the growing challenge faced by civic teams tasked with clearing over 1,200 illegal dairies in Lucknow. These dairies contribute to stray animals frequently roaming city roads, posing safety and hygiene issues. The incident also raises questions about why the LMC teams do not seek police assistance or deploy adequate security staff to safeguard their operations.
“Samajwadi Party corporator Pankaj Yadav and his associates brutally assaulted municipal corporation employees and freed the animals from the vehicle,” said LMC’s chief animal welfare officer Dr Abhinav Verma.
He said the presence of dairies within municipal limits had been prohibited since the high court’s order in 2000, and the National Green Tribunal (NGT) later reinforced this ban due to the environmental pollution caused by these dairies. In March 2022, the NGT also issued an additional order mandating the removal of dairies from within municipal boundaries.
Verma said: “We sought police protection, only four constables were sent to protect the LMC team. These police constables stood as mute spectators when Pankaj Yadav and his associates attacked the driver, helper, and other employees. An FIR has been lodged at Gudamba police station on behalf of the LMC.”
The LMC’s action is in response to court orders to remove illegal urban dairies. On Friday, the LMC team reached Adil Nagar on Kanchana Bihari Marg and seized 12 buffaloes and four cows, which were loaded on to its vehicle. The situation escalated when Pankaj Yadav and his aides arrived at the scene, demanding the release of the seized animals.
Overwhelmed and outnumbered, around 70% of the municipal employees fled. The vehicle was stopped, and the animals were unloaded under the mob’s pressure.
Corporator Pankaj Yadav’s past confrontations with municipal teams have drawn scrutiny, and he is an old history sheeter. On previous occasions, Yadav obstructed municipal actions, including standing in front of bulldozers during anti-encroachment drives. Allegations of his involvement in illegal constructions have surfaced earlier, prompting the then mayor Sanyukta Bhatia and municipal commissioner Indramani Tripathi to consider canceling his membership. However, his fellow corporators intervened, and he was subsequently let off.
LMC employees’ union president Anand Varma said, “Friday’s incident raises concerns about the safety and authority of municipal employees carrying out court-mandated duties. The LMC’s inability to secure its employees from such violent attacks not only hampers their operations but also emboldens those who break the law.”
