By Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — A mazar located near the Pantnagar highway in Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagar district was demolished early on Saturday morning as part of an ongoing drive against alleged illegal structures on government land.
Officials carried out the demolition in Kichha using bulldozers in the presence of heavy police deployment. Teams from the district administration, Public Works Department (PWD), and railway authorities were also present at the site during the operation.
Authorities stated that the structure had been built on land belonging to PWD and the railways without permission.
The demolition is part of a wider campaign being carried out in different parts of Uttarakhand. In the past week alone, around six mazars have been removed by the administration.
Officials have said that these actions are being taken either because the structures were allegedly built on government land or in connection with road widening projects.
Some of the demolished structures were described by locals as visually appealing and long-standing, though authorities maintained that legality, not appearance, guided their decisions.
So far, there has been no official response or formal objection reported from any mazar management committee in the Pantnagar case.
However, the absence of public protest in some cases has not reduced the growing unease among sections of the Muslim community.
The Uttarakhand government has defended the demolitions, stating that the drive is aimed at removing illegal encroachments.
This story was originally published in clarionindia.net. Read the full story here.
