Part of mazar on govt land, VHP & Bajrang Dal activists protest

Members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal today staged a dharna against the encroachment made by those who had constructed a ‘peer mazar’ on the government land and demanded its demolition.

The members staged a dharna and blocked the Ambala-Hisar Road and threatened to remove the encroachment if the administration failed to act despite repeated warnings.

As per the information, the members of the VHP and Bajrang Dal, on November 4, submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner Ambala seeking removal of the encroachment. They had announced that they would hold a protest on November 12, if action was not taken. The members began the protest and recited Hanuman Chalisa. Following the blockade, the traffic was diverted to other routes.

Meanwhile, Ambala City SDM Darshan Kumar and police officials reached the spot and managed to pacify the activists. After getting assurance of appropriate action in this matter from the administration the activists lifted the dharna.

The caretaker of the mazar claimed that a notice from the PWD (B&R) was received regarding the issue. The matter was pending in the court and the next date of hearing was on November 22, and they would follow the directions of the court.

As per the PWD (B&R), the ‘peer mazar’ is situated on old NH-65 opposite Panchayat Bhawan in Ambala City. Some portion of the mazar illegally encroaches the PWD land which is shown in the demarcation report conducted and submitted by the Revenue Department. The mazar is situated at the edge of the bituminous road and creates problems for the road users and is a cause of several accidents.

As per the demarcation report, there is encroachment on 810 sq ft area on PWD land, adjoining the road.

The department has requested the Ambala Deputy Commissioner to appoint a Duty Magistrate along with sufficient police force on November 19 to maintain the law and order during the encroachment-removal drive.

BJP leader Sandeep Sachdeva, who has been associated with the VHP, said “Following the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the demarcation was done in which encroachment was proved. Notices were sent and despite that action was not taken. After seeing no positive response from the local administration, we staged a dharna.”

“There is no stay from any court and the encroachment must be removed. The administration has handed over a letter and assured us that it will remove the encroachment on November 19, for which magisterial support has been sought by the department concerned. If no action is taken, we will remove the encroachment and the administration will be responsible for the consequences,” he added.

Mahender Sharma of the VHP said, “Encroachment of the government land in the guise of mazars is not acceptable. All encroachments must be removed by the administration. The VHP and Bajran Dal will continue to struggle to get the land freed.”

Ambala City SDM Darshan Kumar said, “There were orders from the court to remove encroachment as per the law. The PWD has initiated legal process to remove the encroachment from its land. The department has requested for a Duty Magistrate and action will be taken as per the law.”