Shopian, Mar 31: The government has failed to evacuate the huge area of state land under the illegal occupation of some influential person at Zawoora in this south Kashmir district, locals alleged.   
 They said even the land belonging to the Government School has been encroached upon. “Some influential people have been from past so many years encroaching upon the state land in Zawoora and till now they have occupied 183 Kanals under Khasra number 147 with the government turning out to be a mute spectator,” they added.
 Many of them they alleged have raised concrete structures and built residential houses.
 They alleged that some 6-Kanal of land belonging to Government High School, Zawoora has been grabbed by some “influential persons” while as even forest land has been encroached upon.
 “Though the district administration has been trying hard to get this land vacated from the encroachers but as most of them happen to be cohorts of a defeated candidate of the ruling party they have not been successful either,” the residents alleged.
 They said that a few days back when the administration dislodged the fencing of a few of the encroachers and also demolished few structures the very next day they while carrying lathis beat up the school staff and again erected barbed wire  around the encroached land.
  “It is an irony that the government is supporting the hooligans and supporting them to go for illegal occupation of the state land,” Muhammad Akbar, an elderly resident rued.
 When contacted Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC), Shopian, Muhamad Anwar said, “The school land which was encroached upon has been already been handed over to the school authorities while the rest of the state land will be recovered soon.”

Lastupdate on : Thu, 31 Mar 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 31 Mar 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 1 Apr 2011 00:00:00 IST