Western Railway Clears 90% Illegal Structures In Garib Nagar Demolition Operation

Mumbai: Western Railway’s massive anti-encroachment operation at Garib Nagar in Bandra East entered its third consecutive day on Thursday, with authorities claiming that nearly 90 per cent of the illegal structures had been demolished by evening. The drive, backed by a massive police presence after Tuesday’s violence, also saw officials removing fresh shanties that residents allegedly tried to rebuild on newly cleared land.For a short period, around 100 legal structures in Garib Nagar will remain until the rehabilitation process is completed, sources said. The rehabilitation is expected to be completed within the next four months.

Officials said only the unauthorised upper floors of these structures are currently being demolished manually, while the ground floors will be allowed to remain temporarily until residents are rehabilitated. The manual demolition work of the illegal upper portions is still underway.

In one of the biggest demolition operations in recent years near railway land in Mumbai, officials said nearly 100 metric tonnes of debris had been cleared in the last two days. More than 80 dumper trips were made to transport debris from the site, while 14 machines including JCBs, Poclains, dumpers and gas cutters were pressed into service. In some stretches, workers manually demolished unauthorised upper floors built over existing structures.

The operation remained largely peaceful on Thursday, unlike Wednesday when stone-pelting incidents had triggered tension in the area. More than 500 police personnel, including officers from Mumbai Police, Government Railway Police and Railway Protection Force, maintained tight security across the locality. Around 250 policemen and 50 debris-clearing workers continued night deployment to prevent fresh trouble or encroachment attempts.

Railway officials said the demolition is being carried out under court orders to reclaim nearly 5,200 square metres of railway land worth around Rs 600 crore. Authorities claimed the encroachments had come dangerously close to active Harbour line tracks and overhead electric equipment, posing a serious safety risk to train operations and commuters.

Even as bulldozers continued clearing structures, several people allegedly attempted to erect temporary shanties on plots that had already been demolished. Police and civic staff quickly intervened and removed the makeshift structures. Security patrols in the area were later intensified to stop any further attempts to reclaim the land.

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During Thursday’s action, two to three religious structures near Bandra Terminus were also demolished. Officials maintained that all unauthorised constructions, irrespective of category, were being removed as part of the court-mandated exercise.

Meanwhile, the Nirmal Nagar Police registered a case in connection with Wednesday’s stone-pelting incident. A forensic team visited the site on Thursday to collect evidence, including stones allegedly used in the attack. Police said a suspect accused of hurling a large stone block at personnel has been arrested from Mankhurd and is currently being verified.

Senior Police Inspector Shahaji Nikam of Bandra Railway Police Station said the third day of the operation passed without any major protest or untoward incident. Railway authorities also arranged food, drinking water and refreshments for police personnel, workers and some affected residents during the prolonged operation.With the demolition drive nearing completion, officials are now focusing on ensuring that the cleared railway land is not encroached upon again.

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