Srinagar, Sep 24: The state police and the Srinagar Development Authority are at loggerheads over a prime piece of land in Batamaloo area. While the SDA Saturday started construction of stalls at the site, the police got the work halted and detained the contractor saying the land belongs to it. This tussle is feared to affect the future prospects of scores of roadside vendors who were scheduled to get rehabilitated there.

THE SDA TALE
 Officials at SDA said the land measuring around two kanals, was scheduled to be used for “rehabilitation of street vendors in the area who have paid advance money for the upcoming complex.”
 “These poor people have already paid around Rs two crore for their rehabilitation and so they want the building to get ready at the earliest. But the police move has hindered the prospects,” said an SDA official.
 He said some two years ago police had procured four kanals of land adjacent to the site from SDA. “Now it (police) wants a way to their land through the SDA land even though the police land has a full-fledged access of its own,” said a SDA official requesting not to be named.
 He said such a move by the police would be “injustice with the poor people who are scheduled to be rehabilitated.” 

THE POLICE MOVE
 As the contractor today started construction work on the land, a police party came and got the work stopped. After sometime the work was again resumed on the assurance of the SDA officials that there was nothing wrong in it. But police again came and got the work stopped. The SDA officials, as per the sources, again asked the contractor to resume the work. But this time the contractor landed in soup and he and two of his site associates were detained by police and the work came to a standstill.

THE VENDORS FATE
Street vendors who have paid considerable amount for their rehabilitation are distressed because of the land tussle between the two government agencies.
 “Whatever the tussle between the police and SDA but why should we suffer and why should the work be stopped when we are a legal party to the issue,” said a delegation of the vendors.

POLICE SPEAKS
 When contacted a senior police official said the matter would be sorted out amicably. “It’s not any big issue or any controversy we will sort it out amicably,” the official told Greater Kashmir.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 24 Sep 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 24 Sep 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 25 Sep 2011 00:00:00 IST