Day 2: Demolitions at Chandola continue

Ahmedabad: The massive demolition drive against encroachments around Chandola lake continued for the second day on Wednesday, with MoS home, Harsh Sanghavi, monitoring the operation.
He said that approximately 1.25 lakh sq m of govt land, illegally occupied by Bangladeshi settlers, would be reclaimed. The civic body and city police initiated the drive following detention of illegal immigrants from the area.
Sanghavi received updates from police commissioner G S Malik and municipal commissioner Banchha Nidhi Pani. Following the Pahalgam terror attack, the city police raided the area on April 26 and detained over 150 Bangladeshi nationals living illegally in the area with the help of one Lalla Pathan, aka Lalla Bihari. An FIR registered against Pathan on Tuesday, accused him of orchestrating the encroachment and aiding illegal immigrants with accommodation and Aadhaar cards. The FIR also names Pathan's son, Fateh Mohammed Pathan, and six others for alleged electricity theft, providing illegal connections, misusing electricity bills for tenancy agreements, and collecting rent on govt land. Pathan and others, who are still at large, have been booked for theft, breach of trust, cheating, and forgery.
Deputy municipal commissioner B C Parmar reported that nearly 2,000 illegal structures have been identified for demolition. The AMC has deployed over 70 earthmovers and 200 dump trucks, supported by 2,000 police personnel and 20 SRP companies, to carry out the operation and maintain order. To prevent re-encroachment, the AMC plans to build a wall around the lake and has begun surveying its legal boundaries. Senior engineering officials and private agency personnel are involved in the mapping process.