Beyond the remains of the illegal religious structure that was demolished a month ago, temporary kiosks have returned to encroach on the land around Bhubaneswar railway station. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, July 4: Vendors have returned to encroach on the area around the railway station here that was freed of illegal structures a month ago by government officials to facilitate expansion of the station.

On June 7, a joint team of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) and the general administration department had brought down three religious structures and more than 100 kiosks amid heavy resistance in the area.

The agencies had pulled down a number of eateries, fruit kiosks and illegal parking lots that had mushroomed on government land. The government agencies had taken the help of police, along with Odisha Special Striking Force (OSSF) personnel.

However, a realty check revealed that most of the kiosks have reappeared. Most of them have also occupied the pavement causing inconvenience to the passengers. Besides, these kiosks have again filled the area with garbage. The situation has worsened following rainfall earlier this week with the area remaining waterlogged because of the kiosks.

“The station area remained clean after the eviction drive. But the kiosks reappeared gradually making the area congested again. The authorities must ensure that the kiosks evicted once should not return again,” said Parabir Sahu, a passenger.

This not the first instance of kiosks returning in the station area after an eviction drive. In recent past, a number of such evictions had been carried out and the squatters returned every time.

“We conducted the eviction drive on requisition of East Coast Railway. So it is the job of the railway and the local police station to ensure that the kiosks do not reappear,” said enforcement officer of the BDA Deba Prasad Dash.

On the other hand, the police said they did not have enough manpower.

“We have to manage the law and order situation with our limited manpower. So it is impossible for us to stop squatters from returning. The organisation, which has the land possession, should stop these people,” said a senior police official.

Earlier, East Coast Railway (ECoR) had drawn up a master plan to upgrade the existing railway station. The plan included a multi-level parking lot, a new station building, two additional platforms and a flyover on the Master Canteen roundabout. The railway had also estimated a cost of Rs 205 crore for the work.