THE INDORE Municipal Corporation razed the boundary walls of 17 houses early on Monday morning to pave the way for construction of the Juni Indore overbridge aimed at improving intra-city connectivity. The demolition was carried out amid protests by owners that they were not recompensed for the damage.
THE INDORE Municipal Corporation razed the boundary walls of 17 houses early on Monday morning to pave the way for construction of the Juni Indore overbridge aimed at improving intra-city connectivity. The demolition was carried out amid protests by owners that they were not recompensed for the damage.
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The walls were occupying space earmarked for a road widening exercise to be carried out under the bridge project, estimated to cost Rs 17 crore. The Corporation had issued a notice to the house owners on Sunday asking them to voluntarily demolish the boundaries within 24 hours. Perhaps apprehensive that the owners would obtain a court stay against the proceedings, the IMC removal department swung into action at the crack of dawn.
By the time sleepy residents realised what was happening the offending walls had already begun to be knocked down. At this point irate owners gathered on the streets to protest the demolition and demanded that they be compensated for the losses incurred by the razing exercise as promised by the IMC. A few even threatened to move the High Court.
Tempers, however, cooled down after about an hour when civic body officers patiently explained that overbridge construction was an imperative and knocking down the walls was vital to bring the project to fruition.
The demolition exercise was carried out by a 35-member removal gang headed by Removal Officer Dr Rajesh Kothari. Two JCB machines and an equal number of dumpers and trucks were pressed into service during the four-hour-long exercise.
The flyover is expected to help reduce vehicular load on the Juni Indore railway crossing and also pare vehicular traffic at Manikbag trisection - the site of another under-construction overbridge - this one being built by the IMC.