Ahmedabad:
The estate department of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) demolished 50 residential, commercial and religious constructions in Sabarmati area to make way for the Bus Rapid Transit System.
The exercise was carried out as part of widening the 60-metre road, according to the town planning scheme in the area. AMC is extending the BRTS facility to Chandkheda.
There are more than 1100 religious encroachments in the city which includes temples, street temples (deris), shrines (dargahs), mosques and graveyards. One can also find them in the middle of the BRTS route, particularly in the eastern part of Ahmedabad.
There were 12 small temples and some residential and commercial units which were removed during the drive, said a source in AMC. It was part of a larger exercise of clearing 1.5 km road which was in the public's interest. "We had no intention of hurting public's feelings at all. The decision to encroach the land was taken after the town planning scheme was finalized", the source added.
The civic body had carried out a similar exercise on December 8, which was not well received by the Congress leaders in the city. They took up the issue in the general board meeting of the AMC. The residential units also included small kuccha and pucca constructions, while some were just extensions.
The estate department removed 20 shops in Odhav ward as they were built illegally. Some of the commercial units in the central and south zones of the city were also sealed for not observing parking facilities provisions, as per AMC's guidelines.
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