Fewer policemen to protect MCD men, demolition drive goes slow

Police cover during drives is mandatory and MCD men do not initiate their drive without that, reports Karan Choudhury.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi's (MCD) demolition workers are neither running in the Olympic relay nor fighting for the Tibetan cause, but they can solely blame them for delay in their work.

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The civic agency’s demolition drive on Tuesday suffered a small blow in some parts of the city due to the furore surrounding the Olympic Torch.

The protection meant for them during the demolitions was diverted to Rajpath where there were massive protests against the torch relay. “We had planned to cover as many as five properties but the police said they had to divert the force near the relay site because of some protests. So we could not finish our target for the day,” said an MCD official, on condition of anonymity.

The demolition teams require police cover to protect them from the ire of the residents whose houses are demolished. Police cover during drives is mandatory and MCD men do not initiate their drive without that.

The demolition drive otherwise in various part of the city was carried out smoothly. “Our work has not suffered much, it is just that we have to now complete today's work tomorrow,” said an official.

On Tuesday, the city saw some more demolitions in various areas. Illegal floors were razed in all the zones in the city. In the Rohini zone, three properties were demolished, one in Jay Shiv Apartments where the civic agency faced a few difficulties due to resident's protests.

In the South Zone as many as five properties — two in Sheikh Sarai, three in Malviya Nagar and one in Saket — were demolished. The team faced some resistance here too.

In Paschim Vihar and Rajouri Garden ongoing construction of illegal fourth floors were targeted. In the Central Zone fourth floor of one property each was demolished in Kotla Mubarakpur and Sant Nagar. The High Court-led Monitoring Committee had earlier ordered to demolish all illegal floors and other structures in the city.

Most of them are residential properties. The civic agency maintains that vacating notices are duly served before any kind of action is taken.