Large scale mega demolition in presence of a 1,000 strong police team began today 9:30 am in Gujarat’s Devbhoomi Dwarka.
Beyt Dwarka — an island on the extreme western coast of India is a part of Gujarat’s Devbhumi Dwarka district — located 7 nautical miles from the Okha port.
The entire operation taken up by Gujarat police appears to be sensitive since the strategic location of the island has direct access to the neighbouring country through sea route.
The island also has high religious importance for Hindu religion as it was supposedly the residence of Lord Krishna. The Krishna temple on the island attracts several tourists everyday.
It is also to be noted that demolished properties consist of large land encroached by members of a particular community.
Some of these properties were converted into religious sites and cremation grounds to avoid demolition.
Some structures have relevance with historical temples.
Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi has taken to social media to post videos of demolition to underscore that ‘Bhupendra Bhai Patel government in Gujarat has shown zero tolerance for illegal encroachment’.
In October 2022 a landmark demolition was undertaken for the first time ever in the history, where lakhs of square feet of illegal land worth hundreds of crores was uncovered.
The second round was undertaken in March 2023. All the demolition drives are micro-planned by the authorities and accompanied by a police force.
The administration had made a detailed survey before sending notices to 450 occupants, during the third round.
Today’s demolition included on-ground presence of SP Nitesh Pandey, DYSPs of Dwarka and Khambhaliya and several officials.
Staff of PGVCL, Revenue and Nagarpalika were also present. Sea patrolling in surrounding areas is also done by a large number of officers during the demolition.
The entire demolition activity is being carried out under surveillance with the help of CCTV and drones.
Vehicles or movement of civilians has been restricted since today morning in Beyt Dwarka. However, the rituals at the Dwarka temple were allowed to continue.
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