Jupinderjit Singh
Tribune News Service Ludhiana, June 5
Four marriage palaces situated near the Baddowal ammunition depot were razed to the ground in a joint operation by a team of the district administration and the local police in the early hours here today amidst allegations of selective demolition action levelled against the authorities.
The
coordinated massive operation began as early as at 4 a.m. when the officials of the district administration, a large number of police personnel of Ludhiana, Khanna and Jagraon District armed with 5 bulldozers and other demolition material gathered at Guru Nanak Stadium in another part of the city and then marched towards the marriage palaces.
The demolition process began at around 5:40 a.m. after all the approach routes to the city were cut off and the entire area was cordoned. The security arrangements were strict as the team was apprehending trouble due to opposition by the owners of the marriage palaces and about 400 houses against the demolition move.
When a Ludhiana Tribune team reached the site, the demolition had just begun. The owners of the three marriage palaces namely — Megha, Springfield and White Rock Resorts — were visually disturbed and were ‘quietly’ protesting to the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr S.R. Kaler, who was supervising the entire operation.
The visibly shaken owners of the palaces, Mr Vijay, Mr Shammi Kapoor and Mr Ajmer Singh Brar alleged that the administration had indulged in a pick-and-choose policy in the demolition exercise as two marriage palaces which also fall
in the restricted area, whose owners were close to certain Akali ministers, were spared.
The owners have also objected to the demolition on the ground that it was a premature move as they had appealed in the Supreme Court against the High Court directive to demolish the structures falling within an area of 1000 yards of the Badowal ammunition depot. They said that the hearing in the case was fixed for July 9 but the Administration, taking advantage of the court holidays, went ahead with the demolition.
The marriage palace owners pleaded that they would not have had any remorse if the administration had also demolished other marriage palaces and the 400-odd houses constructed in the area.
A quick survey by the Ludhiana Tribune team showed that the argument of the owners of the marriage palaces seemed to be valid. Equally threatened residential houses and five other marriage palaces — Fifth Milestone, Four Aces, Casa Le Baron, City Heart Garden and Turning Point — also fall in the restricted area, but have been spared.
Interestingly, Casa Le Baron, another marriage palace located between the two demolished marriage palaces, have been left untouched. Meanwhile, the demolition team had a tough time in razing the imposing structures of the marriage palaces to the ground.
Mr S.R. Kaler later explained in a release that in compliance with the orders passed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court four marriage palaces — two marriage palaces in Spring Field Resort, Mega Resort and White Rock — had been demolished here today.
