Encroachments cleared in Navanagar

Encroachments cleared
The Hindu - Staff Correspondent

HDMC carries out drive on nine roads

HUBLI: The Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) conducted a "mini-demolition drive" in Navanagar here on Thursday to clear encroachments on roads and drains.

The demolition drive began at around 7 a.m. and ended at 5.30 p.m during which nine roads were cleared of encroachments.

The corporation officials had planned to clear encroachments on all the roads in Navanagar. However, it could not be done owing to the huge scale of encroachments on all the roads of the area, where the drive was conducted.

The corporation had employed four earthmovers for the purpose, which spent the whole day clearing the illegal structures over drains and gardens raised on the roadside.

The HDMC now plans to take up the demolition drive on the remaining roads of Navanagar either on Friday or Saturday.

It may stop the demolition drive for two to three days to take up the debris clearance work.

The drive was carried out under police protection. Water Board and electricity department officials were also present during the drive.

The corporation had informed the residents about the drive and had appealed to clear the encroachments to reduce damage to their properties

Buses damaged during protest in hubli

Buses damaged during protest in hubli
The Hindu - Staff Correspondent

DSS agitation against desecration of Ambedkar's statue turns violent
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# No permission was taken for the protest'
# Seven city buses damaged
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SHATTERED: Buses were damaged during the protest by Dalit Sangharsh Samiti members in Hubli on Thursday.

HUBLI: Seven buses belonging to North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) were damaged during a violent protest by members of Dalit Sangharsh Samiti (DSS) in Hubli on Thursday against the desecration of Ambedkar's statue in Kanpur of Uttar Pradesh.

The snap protest took the police by surprise as the DSS members had not taken permission from the Police Department for the protest march.

The protest march, which began peacefully, turned violent with a few protesters throwing stones at the city buses.

As there were no police personnel around, other protesters were "encouraged" to throw stones at the buses creating panic among the commuters.

By the time the police arrived at the spot, seven buses were damaged.

Senior police officials rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control. The incident also led to an altercation between police officials and the protesters.

Later, the DSS members, led by Pitambrappa Bilar, took out a protest march via Kittur Rani Channamma Circle condemning the desecration of Ambedkar's statue. They said that such incidences were recurring at regular intervals because of the "failure" of Police Department.

Following the stone throwing incident, the city buses were taken off the road by the (NWKRTC). However, the bus service resumed after an hour.

The police have not made any arrests in connection with the incident. Police Commissioner Narayan Nadamani told The Hindu that seven persons involved in stone throwing had been identified.

He said the department had taken the incident seriously, as the protest march was held without permission. "We have information about the miscreants who threw stones, and they would be caught," he said.