Guwahati: The Kamrup (Metro) district administration has launched an eviction drive along the approach road to Guwahati airport, demolishing roadside structures where commercial activity was allegedly being conducted in violation of govt norms, amid buzz over a possible visit by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi next month.There is speculation that Takaichi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi may attend a summit in Guwahati in the first week of July, though no official confirmation has been issued. The city has, however, seen accelerated preparatory work, including flyovers being painted, roadside vegetation being cleared and roads being blacktopped.A senior district administration official said the eviction is not specifically linked to the potential visit, though sources said the exercise is aimed at improving the city’s unplanned appearance.Near the newly built terminal, bulldozers have brought down an estimated 30 to 40 roadside shops since Sunday. Govt sources said the plan is to clear encroachments on government land along a stretch of about five to nine km from both airport terminals, via the Garal area, up to Dharapur Chariali where National Highway-17 meets the airport road.Azara circle officer Biplab Sarma said a no-parking notice had been issued earlier in the area and alleged land was being used for commercial purposes without conversion from agricultural classification. “The process will continue, following document verification. So far, 30 to 40 shops have razed down and these were temporary structures,” Sarma said on Tuesday. He said the shops had been set up on agricultural patta land, government land and roadside land, calling it a breach of norms.Sources said a survey is now under way up to Dharapur to assess both temporary and permanent structures, including commercial activity on roadside government land and agricultural land.A shopkeeper alleged the demolitions were carried out without notice. “We are indigenous people of this land. We built the shops in our own myadi patta lands just in front of the newly built airport a few weeks ago. They informed us that such shops can not continue in front of the airport,” the shopkeeper said.The drive was conducted with a large deployment of police and administrative officials. Several shops had been set up over the past month, with operators hoping to earn a livelihood near the new terminal.Last year, land acquisition notices issued to hundreds of families in Garal, Mirzapur and Azara triggered discontent, with political parties alleging the government was taking villagers’ land to develop an aero city around the airport and hand operations to the Adani Group.
