SRINAGAR: Srinagar Municipal Corporation in collaboration with Revenue Department Thursday embarked on a massive anti-encroachment campaign in Parimpora and its adjacent areas of capital city with a view to free government land from boundaries and structures built allegedly by the land mafia.
Eyewitnesses said that the drive started in Parimpora which is a part of Batamaloo Assembly constituency. Led by Sub Divisional Magistrate West Mrs Rifat, Tehsildar Shalteng Syed Altaf, SMC Enforcement Officer Central Masood-ul-Hussain, concerned ward officer Umar-u-Din Chohan the drive was conducted in the presence of special demolition squad and Jammu Kashmir Police.
SMC Enforcement Officer Central Masood-ul-Hussain told CNS that encroachments in the city are omnipresent and thriving, much to the discomfort of the common citizens. Be it the roads, parks, pavements, markets or public lands taken in the name of religion, the city is known for the encroachments, which are blots on the face of the urban landscape.
These are decades old encroachments found on state land measuring 8 kanals. These encroachments including shops, tin sheds, fencing, single storey houses were identified by Revenue Department and we were directed to free this vast stretch of land from land mafia, the officer said.
SMD West Mrs Rifat said that owing to the vast stretches of land and massive encroachments, the driver will take at least four to five days. There are clear cut directions from the government to free state-land from encroachments, she said.
Commissioner Srinagar Municipal Corporation Bashir Ahmed Khan said that it is the policy of the government to free every inch of state land from land grabbers.
Pertinently, encroachment on government and non-government land and its misuse for monetary gains is fast emerging as an organized crime in Srinagar city with certain dominant persons allegedly involved in it. Despite claims by the authorities, larger parts in the city are still under control of several unscrupulous persons. (CNS)
College students face harassment from eve-teasers
Will look into the matter: Director
SRINAGAR: Female students studying in the women campus operating from Amar Singh College Srinagar Thursday alleged that outsiders freely roam inside the college and at will they harass the girl students in broad day light. They alleged that college authorities have miserably failed to keep a tab on the activities of miscreants inside the college to ensure safety of girl students.
Most of the people who are found roaming close to our campus are outsiders and we fail to understand how they manage their entry inside the college. The goons pass lewd comments and it has become a routine affair for us to face humiliation right under the eyes of college authorities, a group of female students told CNS.
They said there is no authority inside the college that could check the identity cards of the students. The outsiders not only manage their entry from the main gates but also enter into the college through multiple illegal points, the students said adding that culprits are often seen passing vulgar comments on girls and forcing conversation with them.
A top police official said that it is the prime responsibility of college authorities especially college Principal to deal with the matter. We can act only when we get a written complaint either from students or college authorities, he said.
Director Higher Edcuation Tariq Ahmed Kawosa told CNS that he will raise the issue with the Principal. It is a serious issue. The Principal of the campus will be asked to look into the matter and initiate action against culprits, he said. (CNS)
