MCB demolishes front portion of four shops

Sukhmeet Bhasin

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Tribune News Service

Bathinda, July 30

Officials of the building branch of the Municipal Corporation of Bathinda (MCB), under police protection, demolished illegally contructed 16-ft front portion of four shops at Hazi Rattan Chowk on Monday evening. They also issued notices to other shops.

It is learnt that when the team reached there, people called a Congress leader, who allegedly tried to stop the demolition drive, but remained unsuccessful.

The MCB drive remained in controversy as XEN Davinder Jaura, who went in the morning to demolish the four shops, tried to give more time to the shopkeepers till afternoon by asking them to give in writing that they would get these demolished within four days on their own.

In the evening, Municipal Commissioner Dr Rishipal Singh and STP Kanwaljit Kaur had to come to the spot to get the shops demolished.

There are around 16 shops at Hazi Rattan Chowk. Congress worker and property dealer Sukhdev Singh Ramgarhia had leveled allegation against XEN Sandeep Gupta that he had taken bribe and allowed the illegal construction of these shops.

However, Sandeep Gupta refuted the allegation stating that the Congress worker was encroaching on government land and an MCB team stopped him, due to which he was making baseless allegation against him.

MCB officials are in a fix due to political interference on the issue of illegal buildings in the city.

Many illegal buildings have come up under the alleged patronage of political big-wigs. That’s one of the reasons that the MCB has not initiated action against illegal buildings in Pukhraj Colony, Basant Vihar, Hanuman Chowk, along GT Road, 100-ft road and other places in the city.

Recently, MCB officials demolished three showrooms at 100-ft road near Ghode Wala Chowk, but they left the showroom being constructed by former MCB officials on the same road.