Bulldozer Action Against Encroachments Intensifies in UP's Sambhal

With marauding bulldozers tearing into homes and businesses, the administration is reclaiming and preserving the historical and cultural heritage of the region.

In blatant contravention and brazen defiance of the Supreme Court order against arbitrary use of "bulldozer justice" to demolish homes and other properties, the district administration in Uttar Pradesh's violence-torn city Sambhal went on a fresh spree of operations against "encroachments", clearing the Pap Mochan Tirtha area in a multiagency operation on Saturday.

With marauding bulldozers tearing into homes and businesses, the administration is reclaiming and preserving the historical and cultural heritage of the region.

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On November 13, the Supreme Court bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan observed that states which metamorphose into judges to punish accused persons awaiting trial by driving bulldozers into their homes indulge in a naked display of "might is right" without sparing a thought for families rendered shelterless and destitute overnight.

The chilling sight of a bulldozer demolishing a building, when authorities have failed to follow the basic principles of natural justice and have acted without adhering to the principle of due process, reminds one of a lawless state of affairs, where might was right," the bench observed.

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Saturday: Sambhal's narrow lanes were resonating to the rumbling sound of heavy machinery. It was a stark scene — an interplay of dust clouds as the aggrieved residents sat watching their houses and shops go under the state machinery's remorseless onslaught, reports reaching here said.

It claimed that it removed "encroachments" at Pap Mochan Tirtha and Holika Dahan Sthal at Tiwari Sarai on Bahjoi Road falling within Sadar Kotwali area under the initiative spearheaded by SDM Vandana Mishra, assisted by officials of both the municipality and the revenue administration who had utilized JCBs among heavy machineries.

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Several 'illegal' shops and temporarily erected structures, which had sprouted around the described sites, were demolished as part of the action. The team from the municipality played an important role in clearing the space so that encroachments do not hit the sanctity and ease of access to these Hindu religious landmarks, according to reports.

Aggressive action was carried out despite an emphasis from the apex court on due procedure and the caution against ad hoc demolitions. However, administration at Sambhal seemed to have no qualms in taking aggressive action, using the mandate for the reclamation of government land and public order.

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Commenting on the operation, SDM Vandana Mishra said: "Encroachments on the Holika Dahan site behind this pilgrimage area have been removed. Strict legal action will follow against those who have illegally occupied these lands."

The DM also emphasized that the district's heritage must be protected through sustained and decisive measures.

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The administration has emphasized that the reclaiming of religious and historical sites from encroachment is important for the preservation of the spiritual and cultural identity of the region.

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