An illegal construction being demolished at Chandrasekharpur in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, June 24: A joint eviction drive was conducted to free government land meant for road expansion at Chandrasekhrapur today amid protests by local traders.

The road concerned connects the Jayadev Vihar-Nandankanan road to Chandralok market complex at Niladri Vihar. Officials said this one-kilometre road had been encroached by a number of traders and religious structures.

This road was originally proposed to be 80-feet wide but it is only 30 feet now. Land on its both sides meant for expansion has been encroached upon and people were facing a lot of problems while going to the market complex.

“The road is under public works department and they want to expand it now. So, a joint drive was conducted to free the encroached land,” said Bhubaneswar development Authority (BDA) enforcement officer Deba Prasad Das.

Roads and building officials of PWD and Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), BDA and the general administration department conducted the joint drive. Police were present.

The eviction team partially demolished two religious structures along with the boundary wall of a private educational institution and around 20 kiosks.

Officials of the educational institution that had encroached upon some 10 feet on the road resisted the drive and demanded that the authorities rebuild the boundary wall that was demolished. The affected traders also opposed the drive, but the officials convinced them and the matter did not aggravate because of the presence of the police.

The encroachments on the road, which was primarily used by the residents of Niladri Vihar, had made passing through the stretch a pain, said an official.

“We have been getting complaints about encroachment and road congestions here. The situation frequently leads to traffic chaos in the area,” said a BMC official.

“We hope the road will now become wider and traffic will be smooth,” said Rudra Prakash Satpathy, a local resident.