Bhubaneswar: Tension prevailed in Niladri Vihar area during a major eviction drive launched by Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) amid stiff resistance from the affected people.
According to information, members of a family allegedly threatened self-immolation demanding immediate halt to the demolition drive.
Officials said the administration plans to evict around 330 temporary transit houses in the first phase from the Niladri Vihar area, which has around 890 such houses in total. The eviction action faced strong resistance from locals, leading to a tense situation in the area.
Locals said a man, his wife and their son allegedly tried to inflict self-harm while protesting the eviction drive to clear temporary transit houses across Phase-1, Phase-2, and Phase-3 in Niladri Vihar area. However, security personnel deployed at the site responded swiftly and prevented them from taking any drastic step, reports said.
Protecting the action, local women took to the streets, blocking access roads and refusing to abandon their quarters. Desperate residents voiced distress over being left without alternative shelter and declaring they would rather die than give up their homes.
As part of efforts to prevent any untoward incident, authorities deployed three platoons of police forces alongside personnel from the Nandankanan, Chandrasekharpur, Chandaka, and Infocity police stations to secure the perimeter and escort non-compliant occupiers away from the structures.
Officials maintained that the clearance was necessary to reclaim public land following housing allocations under the Buddha Vihar Housing Project.
They said a majority of the dwellers had already received permanent housing units under the scheme but failed to vacate their temporary shelters within the stipulated timeframe.