By Arfat Khan
JAMMU: The enforcement team of Jammu Municipal Corporation have to face precarious situation at the hands of over enthusiastic novice press warriors and indecisive police officer while carrying out one of the biggest sealing drive in the history of J&K on Saturday against illegal commercial structures constructed on state land along National Highway on Ragoora-Sidhara Bypass road.
Moment we reached the area, the heavy presence of press jugglers led by private players surprised us, said an officer of District Administration. Strangely press brigade and private players were outnumbered by handful protesting locals.
This brigade of restless unprofessional media spartans accompanied by scores of private players in a well planned manner have not only obstructed the sealing drive but also tried their best to instigate the encroachers who raised commercial structures allegedly on state land in violation of BOCA laws, alleged JMC officer preferring anonymity.
The moment we step ahead to seal the identified illegal commercial establishments, huge crowd of media led by some outsiders surround us. Strangely, the police officer who was accompanying us didn’t instruct the jawans to keep the media and private players away from us so that we can execute our task smoothly, added JMC official.
Despite accompanying us, the police officer remained mute spectator and the District Administration needs to take strong notice of this undesired development, said another officer of JMC.
The JMC team only manage to seal those restaurants which were sparsely located in the area.These includes Mad Glad, PitStop, 3 Good Guy, one big workshop besides dozens of smal tin shed structures.
But the main commercial structures namely Landscape, Orange, Dill 16, Tomorrow Land which are located in a cluster couldn’t sealed owing to absence of desired support from the cops, asserts an official of JMC enforcement team.
Had the concerned police officer extend us just 20 percent of support we have managed to seal all the illegal structures, said another official on condition of anonymity.
Interestingly, besides dozens of lady constables there were around 20 CRPF jawans who were deployed to assist the JMC team to carry out hassle free sealing exercise. But, the police officer in command remains mute spectator, said an officer of DC office owing to which the team have to abort the sealing drive midway.
Devoid of professional ethics, the pre tutored self styled journalists instead of reporting the spot assignment tried to acts as super cops, said an officer of DC office Jammu. “They were not only obstructing the JMC team from performing their official duty but actively engage in instigating the crowd” he added.
Obstructing government employees from performing their official duty is a cognizable offences and the police should act against those creating hooliganism on the name of so called Journalism, asserted an officer of special branch. Role of accompanying officers and everything that happened on Saturday during sealing drive in Sidhara is crystal clear in viral videos, pointed an official of special branch.
Playing community card and cribbing victimisation on account of belonging to a particular community have become a tradition for those indulged in grabbing state land at prime locations in area like Bajalta, Ragoora, Mahreen, Sidhara, Belicharana, Bhathindi and Sunjawan, said Randhir Singh Chib of Sidhara. ” The District Administration need to end the age old practice of these habitual land grabbers who have no respect for law, Chib added.
Meanwhile, some of the agitating locals whose establishments were sealed by the JMC telephonically told JKGN that the District Administration acts in a “biased” manner in the sealing drive.
The land on which these disputed restaurants are raised belongs to us since 300 years ago. But, the authorities only targetting us in a selective manner, complained Mehmood Choudhary.
The adjoining Grand Hill restaurant too constructed on majority of encroached state and forest land but his owner namely Majeed remained untouched only because he enjoys close proximity with corridors of power, alleged Rashid.
Demanding verification of land records on which Grand Hill restaurant is located another agitating local said “Everyone stand equal before law and administration should also acts tough against the high and mighty land mafia whose writ runs large in the government”.
The SSP, Jammu Shridhar Patil remains unavailable to JKGN for his comments. However, the sources in District Administration said that small or big every illegal commercial structure will be sealed on Ragoora-Sidhara NHW and those extending covert support to encroachers and violators will be dealt strictly under new retirement policy.