Bulldozer action taken near Somnath temple, religious structure also demolished, 135 people detained

Sadique Shaikh, Gir Somnath (Gujarat), NIT:

Bulldozer action was carried out on Saturday near the Somnath temple in Gir Somnath district of Gujarat. During the campaign to remove encroachment from government land here, a religious structure was demolished and 135 people were detained. Under the anti-encroachment campaign, the administration freed government land worth more than Rs 60 crore from illegal encroachments. Heavy police force was also deployed on the spot during the bulldozer action.

Giving information about the incident, district administration said in a statement that hundreds of police personnel were deployed for the campaign to remove illegal structures on government land in Prabhas Patan of Veraval, the Somnath temple site. Administration said that during the campaign that started on Saturday morning, religious structures and concrete houses were razed to the ground and about 15 hectares of government land worth Rs 60 crore was freed.

According to the information given by the administration, 52 tractors, 58 bulldozers, two hydra cranes, five trucks, two ambulances and three fire engines were involved in the anti-encroachment operation near the Somnath temple. 788 police personnel and State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) personnel were deployed along with senior police and district administration officials.

Amidst heavy deployment of police force, work was started with 52 bulldozers and soon the illegal encroachments were completely demolished and removed. During this, illegal houses built on government land worth crores were also demolished. During this, three Superintendents of Police, four Deputy Superintendents of Police, 12 Inspectors, 24 Sub-Inspectors, Additional District Magistrate, Sub-Divisional Magistrate and Executive Magistrate were present at the anti-encroachment campaign site.