Bandra’s biggest demolition drive nears closure after days of unrest

Western Railwayrsquos demolition drive at Garib Nagar in Bandra East entered its third day on Thursday with officials claiming nearly 90 per cent of the work had been completed a day after violent clashes broke out between police and residents during the antiencroachment operationA resident carries a washing machine while vacating structures during the demolition drive at Garib Nagar in Bandra EastThe drive near Bandra railway station had turned violent on May 20 after a mob allegedly attacked police personnel with stones cement blocks and paver blocks during the demolition of alleged illegal structures between the South Foot Over Bridge and Level Crossing Gate No 18Sixteen arrested so farSixteen people including a 17yearold minor have been arrested so far while police continue scanning CCTV footage videos and viral social media clips to identify 100150 others booked in the case On Thursday however no major unrest was reported as authorities shifted to manual demolition and debris clearanceRubble and debris remain piled up after largescale demolition at Garib Nagar near Bandra stationAccused arrested1 Mohamad Dilsad Shaikh 192 Zhakir Junaiddin 183 Mohamad Sajid Ansari 264 Salauddin Shaikh 265 Rahim Khan 196 Mohamad Arma Irfan 197 Nazim Mohamad8 Mohamad Dilsad Ahmad9 17yearold minor10 Mohamad Ahmed Khan 2611 Ali Mohamad Isariakh Sayed 2712 Faizan Anwar Shaikh 1913 Aman Shaikh 2214 Aas Mohamad Ismail Shaikh 4415 Asfaq Shaikh 1916 Iran Ali Mohamad Shaikh 19Police SpeakRamesh Wagh Senior PI Nirmal Nagar police stationlsquoYesterday there was unrest but today everything remained in order We have 400 police personnel here in security arrangement and the site will be guarded during night time as wellrsquoFlattened structures and heaps of debris seen at the Garib Nagar demolition site in Bandra EastAdvocate SpeakShaijad Mansuri AdvocatelsquoMy client is a 17yearold who was detained by the cops and sent to a remand home On the first day the demolition drive was going smoothly but on the second day they demolished the religious place which created panic in the crowd and they attacked the cops Due to religious sentiments this happened Most of the accused are between 19 and 20 years oldrsquoManual demolition being carriedPolice personnel deployed at Garib Nagar during demolition drive PicsSayyed Sameer AbediOfficials said around 80 metric tonnes of debris are now being cleared daily while manual demolition is being carried out to avoid risking the safety of residents awaiting rehabilitation Police earlier alleged that some residents ldquobecame leadersrdquo during the drive and provoked the crowd by claiming houses and religious structures would be demolished A police source claimed the crowd turned aggressive around 430 pm on May 20 and began pelting stones and construction debris at personnel deployed at the sitePolicemen injuredgtgt RPF constable Jitendra Kumar Sajjan Singh mdash nose injuriesgtgt Constable Pratik Dagdu Jadhav mdash left hand injuriesgtgt Constable Navnath Anna Mudgul mdash shoulder injuriesgtgt Constable Omkar Dipak Koli mdash left shoulder injuriesgtgt Constable Dattatrey Tanaji Bagul mdash finger injuriesgtgt Other policemen suffered minor injuries and were discharged after treatmentAgencies involved in security deployment on Thursdaygtgt Western Railway officialsgtgt Railway Protection Forcegtgt Railway Engineering Construction Departmentgtgt State Reserve Police Forcegtgt GRPgtgt Riot Control Policegtgt Around 1100 officials at siteProposed facilitiesgtgt Train examination facilitygtgt Train stabling facilitygtgt Elevated roadsgtgt Multistoreyed railway buildingsgtgt Expansion of Bandra Terminus capacitygtgt Officials said the longterm redevelopment could take 1525 yearsTimelineMarch 13 Notices issued by Western RailwayMay 19 Demolition beginsMay 20 Violence erupts during driveMay 23 Scheduled completion of demolitionStructures affectedgtgt Around 500 huts marked for demolitiongtgt 100 huts protected pending rehabilitationProgress so fargtgt 9037 demolition completed by Thursday eveninggtgt Nearly 450 huts facing station road razedgtgt 80 metric tonnes of debris being cleared dailyLawful demolitionldquoThe demolition was carried out as per court orders Police had to resort to a mild lathicharge to control the situation Those involved in the stonepelting incident have been arrested and cases have been registered against themrdquo CM Devendra FadnavisVoices from Garib NagarJannati Khatun 70yearoldlsquoI am homeless now alone with no familyhellip Donrsquot know where to go nowrsquoRukhsana ResidentlsquoPeople are asking Rs 1500020000 rent for a room with Rs 15 lakh deposit We donrsquot have that kind of moneyrsquoRahul RajputlsquoI feel for residents who lost their homes but Irsquom relieved to finally see this area cleared Now the Bandra east can improve like west sidersquoOfficial SpeakVineet Abhishek Chief Public Relations Officer Western RailwaylsquoAs the demolition work nears completion we are clearing debris at a rate of 80 metric tonnes a day However due to the sheer volume and other necessary postdemolition work we will continue with a basic staff from May 23 onwards Once the site is cleared we will secure it with fencingrsquoWhat happens nextAccording to Western Railway the cleared land is planned to be developed into an integrated railway complex linked to Bandra suburban station and Bandra Terminus