The UT Estate office on Monday carried out a drive to demolition unauthorised marble market in Dhanas. Over 200 illegal structures in Dhanas were demolished during the drive.

An official of the UT Estate office said, “The drive was carried out peacefully. The UT Estate office demolished over 200 unauthorised structures during the drive. The drive started at 10 am and lasted for more than three hours.”

Over 100 police persons were deployed during the demolition drive.

In December last, the demolition drive to clear the marble market by the UT Estate office had turned out to be a damp squib with only 25 out of the over 240-odd structures being razed. The demolition drive was stopped after the intervention of local leaders and the dealers were given five days of time to remove the illegal constructions voluntarily.

Over 250 marble dealers were running their business from the marble market, which is known to be the second biggest marble market after Delhi in the region. The location of the market violates the Periphery Control Act which stipulates that no business can be run on the agricultural land.

Recently, the UT Estate office has initiated a drive on encroached Government lands in the Union Territory of Chandigarh. In the past, four illegal structures including three single-storey and one double-storey houses were demolished and two houses were sealed in Mauli Jagran and 40 unauthorised jhuggis, 40 unauthorised structures were demolished in Manimajra.