Admin to follow legal procedure: DC B’pora on anti-encroachment drive

Bandipora, Feb 15: Clearing the air on anti-encroachment drive in Bandipora, Deputy Commissioner Bandipora, Dr Owais Ahmed on Wednesday said the administration is not going to punish anyone and will not destroy anyone’s house or property without a legal procedure.
Talking exclusively to Rising Kashmir, Owais said that the anti-encroachment drive is been conducted routinely by the government in different areas. When the government receives information about land encroachment by anyone, they act legally against it and take over the encroached land through a legal process, he said.
The Deputy Commissioner further stated that in the district 70% of the land is already retrieved. “No major encroachment hasn’t surfaced on the state or Kachari land in the topography of Bandipora. In minor encroachment cases, the administration legally through a notice informs the trespassers to evict the land,” he said.
While emphasizing on the potential of tourism, especially the winter tourism in the untrodden pastures and snow-bound areas of the district Bandipora, he said that the winter Carnival is being organized to promote winter tourism in the distant areas of the district.
“Bandipora has a potentiality of tourism, especially in the winters, the eye-catching snow-bound areas look beautiful, so to promote tourism in these pastures the winter carnival is being held in the district,” he said.
Earlier, such type of festival was also organised in the forests of Nagmarg with a motto of tourism promotion and economic generation in these far-flung areas, he said.
Owais said that the administration will conduct such types of festivals also in the Aragam, Surinder and Athwatoo areas with an aim of tourism promotion, and employment generation through the tourism sector for the inhabitants of the area.