Deadline ends,Colony No. 5 to be razed today

Deputy Commissioner Mohd Shayin said that the demolition drive would be held on Wednesday. “Police force has been sought for the purpose. People had been given time to shift and the deadline has ended. All hutments in the area would be razed,” he said.

Chandigarh Housing Board has constructed 8,448 one-room tenements at Dhanas. The beneficiaries have been reluctant to shift citing several reasons. Some wanted that they be allowed to stay at Colony Number 5 till the current academic session is over. Others rued that their place of work would be far away from where they have been shifted.

When the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh handed over keys to the beneficiaries in September,they were asked to shift within one month of the allotment letter being issued. Later,a deadline of 21 days was given. However,not many people shifted till now. A decision was taken to go ahead with the demolition on Tuesday.

The city unit of the BJP would be meeting the UT Adviser KK Sharma on Wednesday to seek more time for the residents of the colony.

Meanwhile,local MP Pawan Kumar Bansal on Tuesday had a word with the officers of Chandigarh Administration that the jhuggi dwellers who were covered in the bio metric survey in 2006 but whose cases have not been cleared for want of any other condition should be shifted to the tin sheds in Sector 52.