Viramgam, June 1 : A large-scale demolition and encroachment removal operation was carried out in Viramgam town of Gujaratâ??s Ahmedabad district on Monday morning to facilitate the widening of State Highway No. 17 under the Viramgam-Surendranagar-Wadhwan four-lane road project.

The drive covered around 4,000 square metres of government and private land along an approximately 400-metre stretch near Gangasar Lake, where officials said long-standing encroachments had created a traffic bottleneck affecting connectivity at the entry point of Viramgam.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate Virendra Desai said the action was conducted after following due legal procedures and land acquisition norms.

He said, "At the entry point of Viramgam city, there was a bottleneck area where three dargahs and several other small encroachments existed. The land involved was privately owned, and it was acquired under the land acquisition process. Compensation was provided to the landowners, and today we carried out the process of taking possession of the land."

Officials said the operation included the demolition of several structures, including three dargahs, along with five shops and around 100 encroachments associated with cemetery land.

A heavy deployment of machinery was used during the drive, including five JCB machines, two Hitachi excavators and 15 dumpers, to carry out the clearance work.

Security arrangements were also strengthened significantly, with more than 550 police personnel deployed at the site.

The force included one Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP), 15 Police Inspectors, personnel from multiple police stations, as well as units from the State Reserve Police (SRP), local Crime Branch and Special Operations Group.

Dy SP Tapan Kumar Dodiya said the objective of the operation was to remove a long-standing obstruction to road widening. He said, â??Demolition work has been underway since this morning to widen the stretch of road connecting Viramgam to Viramgam town and improve connectivity.â??

Ahmedabad Rural Superintendent of Police (SP), Om Prakash Jat, said the project was part of a major state infrastructure initiative and had been under planning for several months.

"The administration and police had been coordinating for two to three months, holding multiple rounds of meetings with the District Collector, SDM, Dy SP, police officials and community representatives before executing the operation after completing all legal formalities," he told IANS.

He added that extensive consultations were held with local stakeholders before the drive. â??Based on this planning, a mega demolition operation was launched this morning. The entire demolition process was completed in a very peaceful manner,â?? he said.

Authorities said the coordinated operation ensured that approximately 4,000 square metres of encroached land was cleared for the highway widening project, which aims to improve regional connectivity by removing the historic bottleneck at Viramgamâ??s entry point.

The latest action follows an earlier encroachment removal drive conducted in April in the Dhandhuka area of Ahmedabad district, where authorities cleared illegal constructions along stretches of the Dhandhuka-Bagodara Highway as part of ongoing enforcement against unauthorised encroachments.

/IANS