In the Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh, the action against illegal encroachments continues and the district administration has ordered the demolition of illegal shops built next to the mosque in Sambhal. One of the illegal shops has been demolished so far during the digging of an old baori in the area. It has emerged that the shops were built on government land, however, the mosque committee used to collect rent from them. Now they have been given a 24-hour ultimatum to remove illegal encroachments.
Reports say that while digging the baori next to the mosque built in front of Sambhal Kotwali, DM Rajendra Pansiya saw encroachment around it. When he inquired about this on Sunday (12th January 2025), it was found that 12 shops built there were illegal. One of these shops was demolished immediately. Apart from this, an ultimatum was also given to the remaining 11 shops. SDM Vandana Mishra said that these shops were constructed by occupying the road and they were found to be illegal during measurement.
The shopkeepers of the identified illegal shops failed to show any documents related to the shops. Subsequently, Sambhal SDM Vandana Mishra held a meeting with the shopkeepers and gave them an ultimatum to remove this encroachment within 24 hours or else the administration would demolish all the shops through bulldozers. It also came to light that the shops were built by occupying government land and the mosque committee used to collect rent from them. Some shopkeepers have started removing their goods after this ultimatum.
Meanwhile, the administration has now formed a committee to protect the pilgrimage sites and historic baoris that have been found in Sambhal. Kalki Dev Tirth Samiti has been formed to promote religious tourism and conservation in Sambhal. The head of this committee is the DM of the district Rajendra Pansia and the co-chairman is SP Krishna Bishnoi. Apart from this, many saints and dignitaries of the city have been included in it.
The DM has informed in this meeting that out of 68 pilgrimage sites in Sambhal, 34 have been identified and work is ongoing on them. In the same meeting, an MoU was signed between this committee and Patanjali Group. Earlier, the work of digging and beautifying many pilgrimage sites in Sambhal had already started, among which Chandausi’s baori (stepwell) is a prominent landmark.
