Jaipur: A confrontation erupted on New Sanganer Road Sunday morning when Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) enforcement teams reached the stretch between Sodala crossing and Gurjar Ki Thadi to mark structures identified as encroachments for removal as part of a road-widening plan.Traders and residents gathered at the site, objecting to the exercise and warning that portions of homes and shops would be lost without rehabilitation or compensation. A group also staged a demonstration against Civil Lines BJP MLA Gopal Sharma, reflecting anger against the ruling party and local representatives.JDA officials said the marking drive had to be abandoned because of the protest and would be rescheduled with stronger police protection. “We were only complying with High Court directions. Unfortunately, a former Cabinet minister had encouraged residents to obstruct the proceedings,” an enforcement official stated.DIG Anand Sharma, who heads JDA enforcement wing, was unavailable for comment.Former Congress minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, who led the agitation, accused BJP govt of violating human rights by moving to demolish homes and shops without rehabilitation.“The Congress govt had rehabilitated 735 Loha Mandi shopkeepers during an eviction drive in Jhotwara and had compensated tenants as well. The demand is simple: shops for shops and houses for houses,” Khachariyawas told TOI, adding that he would not allow demolitions until the govt accepted it.Gopal Sharma reached the area later in the day but left after facing strong opposition from protesters.Local traders’ association president and advocate Amit Sharma said property owners possessed documents to prove their holdings were legal. “There is a High Court order. Residents and traders were not opposing the process to widen the road in line with the master plan, but insisted that any demolition must be preceded by fair compensation,” Sharma said.The standoff has put the court-mandated widening project at odds with demands for rehabilitation, with JDA now expected to seek heavier security before returning to complete the marking exercise.
