Srinagar: Due to the limited strength of the demolition squad in the Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA), it is not able to keep an effective check on illegal construction in and around the fragile Dal Lake in Srinagar.
As per official figures in the department, there are only 15 demolition squad workers who have to raze and prevent illegal structures across the department’s jurisdiction.
A group of demolition squad members at LAWDA told Kashmir Reader that the lack of enough staff is the main reason that illegal construction is happening in and along the Dal.
They acknowledged that there is lot of illegal construction going on in green belt areas and ecologically sensitive lake areas. “But what can we do when there is not enough staff for keeping a check on all areas? Wherever we have received a complaint we have visited that area, but we don’t in how many places the illegal construction is happening,” they said.
“Apart from that, we also don’t have police protection. We have been at the receiving end of frequent attacks on anti-demolition squads and staff undertaking drives against illegal encroachment,” they added.
The workers said that their work ran smoothly till June 2018, when they had nearly 30 Jammu Kashmir Armed Police (JKAP) personnel guarding them during the work. But since then, the police protection has been done away with by the administration.
“We need 24X7 protection with us as sometime we go for demolition drives early in the morning or late in evening,” they said.
As per official records, since the lockdown began in March this year, almost 50 structures have been demolished by the squad in the Dal Lake.
Tufail Mattoo, Vice Chairman of LAWDA, told Kashmir Reader that the department has many a time approached senior officials about providing police protection and more staff. “Hopefully, this issue will be resolved this year,” Mattoo said.

NAZIMA SIDIQ