BSL, admin begins eviction drive around Bokaro airport

Bokaro: Forty makeshift huts and shops were demolished using excavators as the management of Bokaro Steel Limited (BSL) teamed with the district administration to remove encroachments near the upcoming airport on Saturday.

Drones kept a watch from the skies as the drive was carried out amid heavy security cover from four police stations led by DSP City. The drive was led BSL security in-charge Alok Chawla and estate officer P K Sinha from the BSL Estate Court.

The operation saw demolition of liquor shops and nearby shanties while the eviction team repeatedly announced through loudspeakers asking residents and shopkeepers to vacate their premises. Each structure was inspected and cleared before demolition. Mohan Karmakar, a resident, whose house got demolished, said “Where will we go now during winter? I have three children and old parents.”

The drive also targeted houses and shops that had encroached upon the airport’s boundary, obstructing its operational area. Although meat shops near Sector-12 were spared for now, shanties were completely cleared.

During the drive, some residents gathered at a house where a person died on Friday due to health issues. They requested the officials to postpone the demolition near that house. Responding sensitively, the team spared the house and continued the drive. However, this decision angered some residents, who carried the deceased’s body to the main road and blocked traffic in protest. The police team present at the site intervened and removed the body, urging residents to cooperate and maintain peace.

Speaking to the media, Alok Chawla clarified that the eviction drive was being carried out following an order from the BSL Estate Court. He said, “These structures are illegal and pose obstacle to the airport’s development. This drive will continue. We have received full cooperation from the district administration.”

On October 10, the BSL Estate Department issued notices to shopkeepers at Sector-12 More, giving them a 15-day deadline to remove illegal constructions under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971 (Sections 3 and 5A[1]). Despite repeated announcements, most encroachers refused to vacate.