In about five-hour long drive against unauthorised constructions in Chandigarh, the UT Estate Office on Friday demolished Madrasi Colony in Sector 26 here.
The demolition drive started at around 7:30 am and continued till 12:30 pm. During the drive, 32 unauthorised jhuggis including religious structures were demolished. About 1,000 police persons were deployed during the demolition drive.
An official of UT Estate office said, “During the drive, illegal structures constructed on about 40 acres of Government land in Sector 26 here were demolished. The demolition drive went peacefully. “Four earth removers and 4 JCBs were deployed for the demolition drive,” he said.
The UT District Magistrate Mohammed Shayin had ordered demolition of Madrasi colony on about 40 acres in Sector 26. The demolition orders were issued after giving ample time to the slum dwellers to shift to one-room tenement allotted to them.
About 3,000 families were residing in the Madrasi colony and most of them had shifted to the one-room tenement allotted to them under slum rehabilitation project.
In a move towards making Chandigarh slum-free, the UT Estate Office had in the past one year removed several slum colonies in the city and the largest of these was colony number five inhabited by more than 5,000 families.