45 shops in Ghata Village, Gurgaon, razed in a demolition drive

The Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) on Saturday morning carried out a demolition drive near Ghata village in Gurgaon to remove the encroachments in the area. The enforcement wing of the authority demolished around 40 temporary shops and five pukka shops to create space for the expansion of the faulty turn on the Southern Peripheral Road (SPR).

According to HSVP officials the shops were coming in the way of the SPR, which has become a cause of concern for the authorities with the rising number of accidents being reported in the area. More than 500 accidents have been reported there since 2015.

A large police team accompanied HSVP officials to the scene as the drive was strongly opposed by locals who even tried to disrupt the process. HS Jakhar, Sub-Divisional Engineer (Survey), Estate Office 2, said that the police had to intervene and force the protesters to back off to ensure that the drive was carried out successfully.

“We needed land to correct the turn on the SPR at Ghata village. However, the encroachments in the area posed a big hurdle. Despite giving several notices, the owners of these shops did not budge,” Jakhar said.

The land has now been handed over to engineering cell that would soon initiate the work to correct the faulty turn, added Jakhar. 

The sharp turn at SPR has become a scare for the residents because of the several accidents reported here, some of which have been fatal. An engineering survey had revealed that the horizontal curve, elevation and radius of the curve need correction to make the road safe. 

Speaking on the subject, Chander Shekhar Khare, Administrator, HSVP, said, “We have already allotted the expansion work for the road but were not able to go ahead because of the encroachments. It is a very busy and crucial road that needs widening to ensure smooth movement of traffic.”

He also added that the authority are waiting for the monsoon season to be over to start the repair work on roads.