CR removes encroachments on harbour line

Not just illegal hutments occupying railway property, the special drive also removed unauthorized garages and shops

Navi Mumbai

CR removes encroachments on harbour line

Over 50 odd encroachments that existed on the Sanpada-Juinagar railway line have been cleared. In a special drive undertaken by the central railways, on Sunday during the mega block, encroachments spread on the entire stretch from Sanpada to Belapur were removed.

The drive was undertaken following a survey conducted by the railways last week. “Sectional engineers had conducted the survey and found that these were soft encroachments done gradually to take over railway land. The drive was considered necessary to secure land belonging to the railways,” said a senior official.

As per the measurements taken by the railway authorities, the encroachments were seen to have occurred over 15 meter of area in breadth and 400 meter Length. “There were not just illegal huts occupying railway property but also we came across unauthorized garages, old paper stores etc. The encroachments were becoming a matter of security,” said the official.

A similar action was undertaken on Monday wherein a total of 165 illegal huts were removed between Chunabhatti and Guru Tegh Bahadur Station.

For the drive, railways used two JCBS and 20 odd labourers. The department has stated of taking various measures to secure the premise from future encroachments. Preliminary plans include to place fences or even lease out the area for farming purposes. There are also plans to have bougainvillea plantations to beautify the stretch. “The drive was long needed, illegal huts and slum dwellers had begun encroaching the area. There were instances of phone snatching and other thefts happening on the stretch. Railways should ensure that there are stringent measures taken to secure the premises,” said Vaishali Patil, a resident of Sanpada.