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35 Illegal structures including dargahs razed in Gujarat’s Beyt Dwarka island
The Gujarat government deployed about 1,000 personnel to carry out the demolition drive against unauthorised structures in Beyt Dwarka island in Dev Bhoomi Dwarka district
Ahmedabad: Nearly 35 illegal structures at Beyt Dwarka island in Dev Bhoomi Dwarka district of Gujarat have been demolished over the last three days, a district official said on Monday. Among the structures that have been demolished are those constructed by Ramzan Gani Palani, a key accused in the seizure of over 230kg of heroin from a boat near Jakhau Port on May 21-22, 2019.
Apart from residential units, shops and godowns, the authorities have pulled down religious shrines belonging to the minority community as they were illegal, said a government official close to the development.
The joint operation is being carried out by the district revenue authority, state reserve police (SRP), state maritime board, Rajkot police and Devbhoomi Dwarka police. About 1,000 personnel including SRP jawans and police personnel joined the operation.
“The district administration in its survey has identified illegal structures in Beyt Dwarka. Since it’s an island and we need to ferry boats (from Okha) to reach here, it needed proper planning to bring machinery and other equipment. Also, the island is important from coastal security point of view, it is close to the international maritime boundary line,” said Nitesh Pandey, superintendent of police, Devbhoomi Dwarka.
Boat services from Okha to Beyt Dwarka were temporarily suspended during the demolitions.
“Some belonged to Ramzan Palani and his family. Palani is an accused in the 2019 drug haul case near Jhakhau. The Okhamandal area, which includes Beyt Dwarka and Devbhoomi Dwarka, has a history in smuggling activity so the operation needed to be handled sensitively,” Pandey said.
He added that the drive is likely to continue on Tuesday.
About 40km from the temple town of Devbhoomi Dwarka, Beyt Dwarka island is a pilgrim place believed to be the abode for Lord Krishna during his years spent at Dwarka as a king. The island has a Lord Dwarkadhish (Lord Krishna) temple where lakhs of devotees visit every year.
Beyt Dwarka has a population of about 15,000 and majority of them (about 80%) are from the Muslim community.
Police said 10 structures that were razed during the drive were dargahs and Mazars. “There was some opposition initially but the government handled it peacefully,” said an officer.
“Beyt Dwarka is strategically located. It’s 58 nautical miles from Karachi. Thousands of religious encroachments had come up over years. Yesterday in a single day Gujarat Govt under@Bhupendrapbjp has cleared 55K sq ft land. The drive is continuing today also,” said B L Santosh, National General Secretary (Org) for BJP said in a tweet on Sunday.
Elections in Gujarat are scheduled to be held in December this year.
