Ranchi: Tension prevailed in the city’s Jay Prakash Nagar area under Sukhdeonagar station limits on Wednesday after residents staged a demonstration against the demolition of several houses allegedly built on a 47-decimal plot of tribal land. The district administration carried out the demolition following a directive from the Jharkhand high court. A total of 11 houses were demolished on Tuesday and Wednesday.Locals took to the streets in large numbers and staged a protest on Ratu Road, burning tyres. They claimed that they resided in the area for about the last three decades.
“Our ancestors bought land here around 60-70 years back, although it was tribal land. Since then, we stayed on the plot and built our houses with hard-earned money. After so many years, Mahadev Oraon, a second-generation owner of the land, is claiming ownership of the land. Despite the residents here paying him in exchange for the land, he took the matter to the court, and the court ordered the houses to be demolished,” said a protesting local unwilling to be named.The owners of the bulldozed houses alleged that Mahadev deceived them. “He promised us not to take any action against us after we paid him, but we are being deceived,” another local added.Despite the residents’ claims and strong protest, a team of the district administration carried out the eviction drive on Tuesday and Wednesday.Sukhdeonangar police station officer-in-charge (OC) Sunil Kumar Kushwaha said, “We are just following the high court’s order. The order said the houses built on the land are illegal and have to be cleared within Feb 20. A total of 14 houses have to be demolished to clear the land.”He added that the court order proves Mahadev to be the actual owner of the land. “Although the locals tried to restrict the eviction process, police teams brought the situation under control, averting any kind of untoward incident on the spot,” the OC added.
