Offices of political parties and organisations are at the receiving end of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s drive against illegal encroachment. A day after an office of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was demolished in Kolkata’s Taratala area, the Asansol Municipal Corporation sent an eviction notice to an establishment of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
During a review meeting on Thursday, Ms. Banerjee had pointed out that the RSS office was built on land acquired after filling up a waterbody. The Chief Minister said that if the administration can take action against a Trinamool Congress office, it can do so against the RSS. On Friday, authorities sent a notice to the RSS office. Its functionaries said they will reply to it.
Trinamool office dismantled
On Friday, Trinamool supporters cleared a party office in Behala’s Manton area that was allegedly built on land acquired illegally. There was no intervention by the police or civic authorities as the Trinamool supporters dismantled the office functional till 2022, before the arrest of MLA and former Minister Partha Chatterjee.
Along with the crackdown on hawkers, Ms. Banerjee, in meetings on June 23 and June 27, had directed the police and civic authorities to take action against those illegally occupying land. Earlier this week, the police arrested Debasish Pramanik, a member of the Jalpaiguri Zilla Parishad and the president of the Dabgram-Fulbari organisational block of the Trinamool Congress. Two associates of the leader were arrested for grabbing government land.
In Kolkata, several families residing on Helen Keller Sarani and in areas around the Majherhat Railway Station were evicted from their homes by the Kolkata Police and Syama Prasad Mukherjee Port Trust officials. The eviction was as per orders of the Calcutta High Court though several civil rights groups opposed the move saying it has forced 65 families to reside under a flyover.
Drive against illegal parking
In another development, the Kolkata Police began cracking down on illegal parking. Along with encroachment of footpaths by hawkers, illegal parking over the past few years has emerged as a major challenge for the residents. Police impounded several vehicles parked in no-parking zones. Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim said the municipal corporation was in the process of building several multi-level parking slots in the city.
