By Maktoob
The Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor’s administration demolished dozens of homes belonging to Gujjar and Bakarwal families during a demolition drive in Jammu’s Sidhra area, leaving several tribal families homeless and triggering allegations that vulnerable Muslim communities were being selectively targeted.
The demolition was carried out on Tuesday in the Raika Bandi area near the Mahamaya Temple on the outskirts of Jammu city, where teams from the Forest department, district administration, police, and paramilitary personnel demolished around 32 structures allegedly built on encroached forest land.
Officials said nearly 60 kanals of forest land were reclaimed during the operation.
Residents, however, alleged that the administration arrived around 5 am with bulldozers and a heavy security deployment, giving families little time to remove their belongings before the demolitions began.
Residents claimed that more than 500 personnel took part in the operation, while several families alleged that children, women, and elderly residents were still inside their homes when the demolition drive began.
Jammu and Kashmir Forest and Tribal Affairs Minister Javed Ahmed Rana strongly condemned the operation and accused the LG administration of bypassing the elected government.
In a detailed post on X, Rana expressed shock over what he described as the “clandestine” demolition of homes in Sidhra by the Lieutenant Governor’s administration, alleging that decades-old homes of Gujjar-Bakarwal families were reduced to rubble without consulting the elected government or his ministry.
Calling the drive a “targeted, cruel eviction”, Rana further said the operation was aimed at “terrorising and marginalising” nomadic tribal communities and warned against “selective harassment and high-handness”.
He stated that he would take up the matter with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to demand an immediate halt to such drives, an inquiry against officials involved and rehabilitation for displaced families.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.
