On Tuesday, Gujarat’s Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel declared that his administration would not put up with any illegal activity along the state’s 1,600 kilometres of coastline. He also vowed to keep up the demolition of illegal structures so that everyone in line could receive the benefits of government programmes without delay. He stated, “The government has undertaken this drive to ensure that benefits of government schemes reach the last person easily and without any barriers.”
દ્વારકા જિલ્લાના હર્ષદ મંદિર વિસ્તારની ગૃહ રાજ્યમંત્રીશ્રી સાથે મુલાકાત લઈ દરિયાઇ માર્ગે થતી ગેરકાયદેસર પ્રવૃત્તિઓના નિયંત્રણ માટે લેવાયેલ પગલાઓનું નિરીક્ષણ કર્યું. વિવિધ વિસ્તારોમાંથી ગેરકાયદેસર દબાણો દૂર કરવાની જિલ્લાતંત્રની કામગીરીને બિરદાવી. pic.twitter.com/roTOtzmGQZ
— Bhupendra Patel (@Bhupendrapbjp) March 28, 2023
He was speaking during his visit to Bet Dwarka island and Gandhvi village in Devbhumi Dwarka district, where the government had recently demolished unauthorised structures, terming them a threat to coastal security.
He remarked, “If someone believes that unlawful actions can be carried out along this coast, they should be mindful that the authorities will not permit it. The government will continue its campaign against such activities along the entire 1600 km coast, and the illegal practices won’t be permitted to take place.”
Gujarat Chief Minister and Minister of State for Home on visit to coastal Bet Dwarka in Saurashtra region where mega demolition drive against encroachment on Government land was carried out recently by the State Government. pic.twitter.com/j3qw2SwqUs
— DeshGujarat (@DeshGujarat) March 28, 2023
“A meeting with the Police, District Collector, and officials of the Forest Department was held yesterday in this regard and they were asked to take action in the respected land under their jurisdiction,” he informed while responding to a query about current illegal constructions at Dwarka coast.
Harsh Sanghavi, the Minister of State for Home, and Vikas Sahay, the Director General of Police (DGP), accompanied the CM as he took a boat to travel to the island of Bet Dwarka, which is located off the coast of Okha. He also checked on the progress of the bridge being built between Okha and Bet Dwarka.
ઓખા અને બેટ દ્વારકા વચ્ચે નિર્માણાધીન સિગ્નેચર બ્રિજની કામગીરીનું નિરીક્ષણ કર્યું. આવનાર દિવસોમાં સિગ્નેચર બ્રિજની કામગીરી સત્વરે પૂર્ણ કરવા સૂચના આપી. આ બ્રિજ યાત્રિકોને પરિવહનમાં મદદરૂપ બનવાની સાથોસાથ યાત્રાધામના સૌંદર્યમાં પણ અભિવૃદ્ધિ કરશે. pic.twitter.com/2eHfzQH6RG
— Bhupendra Patel (@Bhupendrapbjp) March 28, 2023
Earlier this month several buildings, including ‘Mazars,’ were ordered to be demolished by the Dwarka administration in Gujarat’s Harshad village of Kalyanpur Tehsil. This followed an instruction from the state government to remove any unauthorised construction that would endanger the maritime security of India. 50 businesses and around 210 homes were removed by the local government during the operation, which was carried out with a significant police presence.
Lakhs of square meters of land in the Dwarka district were freed of illegal encroachments through bulldozer action. However, after the action, thousands of fishermen broke the law and illegally trespassed into the Mul Dwarka port of the Gir-Somnath district of Gujarat. Over 200 boats and more than 1,000 people illegally invaded coastal villages, causing inhabitants to fear for the safety of the community.
Notably, the authorities initiated bulldozer action and razed down religious and private commercial constructions in the area, last October. The massive operation was jointly carried out by various departments including revenue, panchayat, maritime, police, and power supply department.
The officials received the input that the banned radical outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) connections had links in the area and that criminal operations were being forcefully carried out by seizing government land in the name of religion.
Incidentally, the western state shares border with Pakistan, including maritime. Hence, the coastline is a security concern for both the centre and the state governments due to the risk of frequent trespassing by our hostile neighbour.
