HUBBALLI:Finally, the city administration walked its talk by launching a drive against the encroachment of parking space in domestic and commercial buildings in Hubballi on Tuesday. Parking space that was illegally occupied in seven buildings was cleared, and two others were forced to clear illegal structures on their own. On day one, the encroachment drive was met with a few incidents of resistance from the building owners.
Elected members of the Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) and officials were on a collision course over holding the demolition drive, but the latter went ahead as DC Rajendra Cholan chose to spearhead it. Later, Upa Lokayukta also backed the drive, saying no resolution passed by the HDMC council can come in the way of the drive.
The HDMC has shortlisted 389 parking spaces violated by buildings. After receiving a notice, over 100 building owners voluntarily cleared the encroachment. The demolition drive has identified 80 buildings spread over 5,000 square feet for the demolition drive, which is likely to continue for over a month.
The HDMC officials simultaneously started the demolition drive on Tuesday morning at two different areas in the city.
Encroached parking space was cleared at Meenakshi Arched, Omkar Apartment, Khaji Building, Kurdekar Building, Kalaburgi Apartments, TVS Showroom Building and Vasavi Apartments. Building owners of Clarks Inn and Tatvadarsha Hospital chose to clear the encroachments themselves. No elected representatives were seen during the drive.
DC Cholan, HDMC commissioner C M Noor Mansur and Deputy Commissioner of Police Hanumantaraya were present and also inspected several other buildings shortlisted for demolition.
At Revankar Complex near Court Circle, the DC rapped the corporation officials for not marking the correct parking space. “If you people do this, what the people are accusing you of will stand proved,” Cholan said.