Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): An eerie silence prevailed in Bhadbhada Basti here on Saturday after four days of clamour. A huge contingent of police was deployed there because houses of many people were razed to the ground following an order of National Green Tribunal. All the dust and din that the demolition drive raised came to an end after all the 390 houses were bulldozed. On Saturday, a pack of dogs moved around the place searching for food.
A few people were bunching up bricks and loading them in tractor-trolleys because they had to shift to another place. They needed bricks to do it. Bhadbhada Basti lies in submergence area of Bhadbhada dam, which has 11 sluice gates at the south-east corner of Upper Lake in Bhopal. The dam was constructed in 1965.
Though the encroachment drive was to continue for five days, Bhopal Municipal Corporation razed 390 houses from Bhadbhada Basti in compliance of National Green Tribunal (NGT) order. Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) has to place compliance report before NGT on March 12.
The oustees have shifted to Banganga, Bankhedi, Chandbad. The road leading to Hotel Taj was barricaded on fourth day but was opened for normal traffic in afternoon. SDM Manauwar Khan told Free Press that 390 houses were dismantled during four-day anti-encroachment drive. “Initially, drive was slow as we had to convince dwellers but later they themselves shifted their household items, so our work became easy,” he added.
