Illegal structures demolished at Garib Nagar near Bandra station

Western Railway on Thursday said about 85 per cent of the nearly 500 illegal structures in Garib Nagar near Bandra station have been demolished as its drive to free the area of encroachments entered its third day.

The demolition process remained peaceful during the day and no law-and-order situation was reported, WR Chief Public Relations Officer Vineet Abhishek said.

About 85 per cent of the nearly 500 illegal structures in Garib Nagar near Bandra station have been demolished, he said.

“Around 13 machines and several dumpers were deployed for the drive on the third day. The larger pucca structures had already been removed, while smaller and temporary structures were being dismantled manually,” Abhishek said.

Authorities are handling the issue sensitively and had distributed food and water to personnel engaged in the drive as well as residents of Garib Nagar who approached them, he added.

“A total of 1,200 personnel, including security staff, remained deployed on the third day as well. Around 80 metric tonnes of debris had been removed from the demolition site on the second and third days with the help of 40 vehicles. The cleared area would be fenced immediately after the removal of the illegal structures,” the CPRO said.

Western Railway launched the demolition drive on Tuesday to remove around 500 unauthorised structures following the High Court’s directive amid tight security arrangements.

However, the area witnessed stone-pelting on Wednesday, resulting in several policemen getting injured. Police had to resort to lathi-charge to restore normalcy.

It has led to the arrest of 16 persons, while police are scanning CCTV footage from the area to apprehend another 150 allegedly involved in the violence.