Displaced residents protest the construction of Rani Jhansi flyover grade separator
Protest by residents of Azad Market, tyre market and Modal Basti continued against demolition of their establishments to construct the Rani Jhansi flyover grade separator. Residents are up in arms since they have not been compensated by the authorities. Approximately 95 odd shops and houses were demolished on Thursday last by North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NMC) with the assistance of local police.
Delhi Police had a tough time handling irate residents. The protesters refused to budge from their demands forcing Delhi Police to use force. Madhur Verma, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) said, “Multiple notices were issued to the people to vacate this place and to remove shops from these localities. A few people were detained under Section 65D of Delhi Police Act for not allowing civic bodies to work smoothly.” He further added that adequate police force was deployed during the demolition process.
Administration has disconnected water and electricity supply prior to the demolition on Friday last. Some residents and shopkeepers complained that electricity and water supply was discontinued forcing them to leave the premises.
They also complained that NMC issued notices to them only recently and were expecting them to vacate the respective premises and also find a home for themselves. PK Gupta, Commissioner of NMC, had given his statement earlier that they would go ahead with the demolition process irrespective of other issues since an order has been passed by the Supreme Court.
The project has been hanging fire for the last 15 years as the issue of compensation raged without a solution. With civic agencies clearing the last hurdle, the project is scheduled to be complete within a year, said a top municipal official. The cost of the project escalated manifold due to the persistent delay. The cost of the project was initially estimated to be Rs 177 crore but has now shot up to Rs 260 crore. The proposed flyover will be 1.8 km long and will cover Rani Jhansi Road, Bara Hindu Rao, DCM Chowk, Azad Market and Baraf Khana Chowk to reach St Stephen’s Hospital. The construction of the flyover will also reduce traffic congestion problems, the official added.