Police personnel carry out the eviction drive ahead of Nabakalebar festival near railway station area in Puri. Pictures by Sarat Patra

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 27: Tension gripped the Ramchandi Balikuda slum near Puri railway station today following an eviction drive to facilitate construction of the East Coast Railway’s Yatri Nivas to provide accommodation to tourists during Nabakalebar next year.

The slum residents, occupying around 400 houses, got engaged in a scuffle with the anti-encroachment squad consisting of district administration officials and policemen. However, despite resistance, the houses and a few temples built on 4.84 acres of the encroached land were demolished. As many as 21 platoons of police, three medical teams, fire personnel and 150 female police personnel were deployed at the spot. The slum dwellers alleged that the administration had conducted the drive without giving them adequate time to move out of the area.

“The administration informed us about the drive only yesterday. As a result, we did not get enough time to take away our valuables. We have been staying here for so many years. Where would we go now?” asked Nirakar Behera, a slum dweller.

Superintendent of police Ashish Singh said adequate police arrangement had been made to prevent any untoward incidents.

“Part of the encroached land belonged to the railway, while the rest belonged to the municipality and the government,” said Singh.

Though the district administration is yet to finalise the exact place of rehabilitation of the slum dwellers, sources said the displaced families would be resettled at Talabani.

In August, chief minister Naveen Patnaik had urged the central government for expansion of platforms, passenger amenities and rest areas in Puri and Bhubaneswar stations and construction of a modern station building.

However, encroachment of the railway land remains a major hurdle, and today, following the eviction drive, the railway authorities are hopeful of completing the upgrade work before the festival.

Around 50 lakh devotees are expected to visit the holy town during next year’s Nabakalebar, a festival when the old images of Lord Jagannath and His siblings in the 12th century Puri shrine would be replaced with new ones. The district administration said it would also initiate action against hotels in the city, which had encroached on government land. In July, the housing and urban development department had identified eight hotels along Chakratirtha Road for having encroached on government land. The hotels have illegally occupied the beach and developed their lawns.

The National Green Tribunal had also asked the Puri Konark Development Authority to initiate action against 316 hotels in Puri for violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone norms that prohibit construction activities near the seashore.