VELLORE: Town panchayat authorities along with revenue and police officials, carried out a drive against encroachments at the Nemili Bus Stand and retrieved over 2,400 square feet of land after razing decade-old illegal constructions.
The drive created a flutter in the locality as the encroachers and DMK cadre tried to stop the officials from carrying out the work.
The police arrested nine DMK men on charges of preventing government officials from discharging their duties and remanded them.
A concrete building, with six shops on the ground floor and four on the first floor, was demolished using four bulldozers, said an official of the Town panchayat department.
“We have demolished a total of 14 shops constructed at the bus stand after the encroachers refused to vacate despite being given prior notice. The drive that started on Wednesday morning continued on Thursday. With the support of the district administration, we were able to evict the encroachers,” said Assistant Director of Vellore Zone of Town Panchayat S M Malayaman Thirumugakari.
The drive was aimed at retrieving the land so as to expand the bus stand and construct shops to generate revenue for the local body, he added.
Apart from this, seven persons removed their temporary structures after being issued notices. “We have retrieved a total of 2,422 square feet land that had been encroached for more than two decades,” he added.