Lethpora family alleges violation of court stay order in demolition drive

Pulwama, Jan 22: A family from Lethpora village in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district has accused authorities of violating court stay orders during a demolition drive targeting their property along the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.
Shafiya, a member of the aggrieved family, while addressing the media in Srinagar on Wednesday, explained that they have a land dispute with the owner of a petrol pump recently established near their dry fruit shop and restaurant.
She said that her brother has been running the shop and restaurant at Lethpora village of Pampore Tehsil for the past two decades.
According to her, the structures were constructed legally with proper permissions from the competent authorities.
According to Shafiya the dispute arose when the petrol pump owner sought an approach road through their land.
“The owner of the petrol pump wants an approach road through our land,” Shafiya said. She alleged that after refusing the request, they began receiving eviction notices from various departments.
Shafiya further said that they approached the court, which issued a stay order on the matter.
“ However, on Tuesday, a demolition drive was carried out in violation of the court order,” She said.
The woman accused the revenue authorities of playing a partisan role in this case.
“We showed them the court stay orders, but they didn’t pay any attention,” she said, adding that a Dhaba (food stall ) and other materials were damaged during the drive.
Shafiya also said that her two brothers were detained during the incident.
The family has appealed to the Deputy Commissioner Pulwama and SSP Awantipora to investigate the matter and ensure justice to them.
Meanwhile, Tehsildar Pampore, Malik Asif Ahmad, refuted the allegations, saying that no court stay order was violated.
“The court stay order applies to 7 marlas of land owned by them and the property situated on that land,” he clarified.
He explained that the eviction drive was carried out on a patch of land owned by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in front of the shop. “This patch of government land was encroached upon by laying tiles and erecting a temporary structure,” he said.
The Tehsildar added that the approach road to the petrol pump is being laid through this patch of NHAI land, for which the pump owner has obtained a No Objection Certificate (NOC).
He said that the two family members were detained for creating public nuisance by hurling stones and abusing officials during the anti-encroachment drive.