Gujarat govt ‘demolishes illegal structures’ from 7 Devbhumi Dwarka islands

Devbhumi Dwarka district has 23 islands of which only two are accessible and inhabited — Beyt Dwarka and Narara.

According to a government statement, 36 structures were removed from the prohibited islands, and the district authorities have begun the process to “identify and proceed” against those responsible for the structures, Pandey said.

“The structures cleared were mostly religious or commercial, the latter including jetties, where boats could anchor,” the officer said.

The structures are believed to have come up in the last five to ten years on the prohibited islands, which can be accessed only with due permission from the district or forest department.

Pandey said that teams from the police, forest, and other departments “manually” demolished the structures since bulldozers and other heavy machines could not be transported to the islands. “Due process was followed before the drive started,” he said.

Last week, the Jamnagar district authorities cleared 4000 sq feet of area from another restricted ecological habitat — the Pirotan Island — comprising religious and private structures.

The crackdown on unauthorised structures in the coastal districts began in 2022 from the Beyt Dwarka demolitions by the Okha municipality, largely on the ground that these habitations could “pose potential security threats”.