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Demolition drives against alleged illegal constructions were undertaken in several parts of Delhi on Wednesday, 11 May. The areas where the drives were carried out include Dwarka, Lodhi Road, Najafgarh, Janakpuri and Chaukhandi among others.
Several residents protested against the drive in Janakpuri, but it was carried out nonetheless.
"We have removed only illegal temporary structures and kiosks. It is our duty to remove encroachment and we will continue our crackdown on violators," said chairperson of South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) West Zone Shveta Saini, as per PTI.
SDMC Central Zone chairman Rajpal Singh had earlier said that illegal encroachments had already been identified on Lodhi Road.
He also said that their plan was to remove illegal structures that are currently blocking roads, adding that school buses, ambulances, and fire brigades could not access the roads because of the encroachments, ANI reported.
"Those who have not encroached need not fear. We will bulldoze as well as manually remove the encroachments," he further said, adding that people of political parties were working on intimidating people whereas the SDMC was talking about unity, integrity and development of the country.
Several policemen could also be seen standing atop buildings to oversee the security situation amid the demolition drives on Wednesday.
Several left-wing organisations also staged a protest and undertook a citizens' march to Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal's residence to protest against the drives being conducted by municipal corporations run by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The march began from Kashmere Gate and was stopped by the police before it could reach Baijal's residence.
Earlier, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) had conveyed its plans to carry out demolition drives against alleged illegal structures. As a result, a majority of people had removed their structures themselves.
A day after the ruckus in Shaheen Bagh, a drive was conducted at the New Friends Colony (NFC) and Mongolpuri areas against alleged illegal encroachments.
(With inputs from IANS, ANI and PTI.)
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