Salt Lake: The urban development department and the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation on Sunday razed a car repair garage that had allegedly encroached on a seven-cottah plot in Salt Lake's AD block.

The demolition followed complaints from multiple residents of the block that cars abandoned in one corner of the garage had turned into breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

At least six old cars were found inside the garage, a police officer said.

The dengue-causing Aedes aegypti mosquito can breed in a coin-sized pool of water. Used tyres and the empty spaces inside an unused car are ideal spots for freshwater to accumulate and provide breeding conditions for mosquitoes, according to experts.

An earthmover, along with labourers armed with shovels and spades, dismantled the temporary shed of the garage while policemen stood guard on Sunday.

The owner of the garage had been served a notice one week ago.

"The garage owner moved the cars that were in running condition and most of his tools. He, however, did not take down the shed and remove the abandoned cars," the officer said.

The eviction team pulled down the shed and also moved the cars out of the plot. The abandoned cars are now parked on a pavement adjacent to the walkway to the Kestopur canal.

"The workers and the backhoe loader together moved the cars out. Water had accumulated inside them," said the officer.

Sabyasachi Dutta, the mayor of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, said the civic body had provided logistical support to the urban development department for the eviction drive.

"We had received several complaints from the residents of AD block who wanted us to take action as the garage had become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. It had been built illegally on government land and we helped the urban development department remove it," said Dutta.

The owner of the garage Kartick Karmakar, 52, a resident of Kankurgachi, said he had set up the garage in the 1980s. "I used to stay and work as a driver in AD 7. I opened the garage as I found the land lying empty for several years," Karmakar said.

No building plan was submitted to the civic body for the garage, a civic official said.

"The absence of a building plan or any records means the land was not allotted to anyone," said the official.

Karmakar said only a few cars would come to the garage when he started but business had grown over the years.

"At least three cars would drive in daily. I had 15 men working for me and now everything has been reduced to rubble."

An official of the urban development department said the plot has been fenced and boards declaring it as "government land" put up.

"Now that the land has been freed from encroachment it can be put up for auction," said the officer.

The urban development department had auctioned several residential and non-residential plots in Salt Lake last year.