Admin shows its humane and tough sides

The encroachment removal drive carried out by Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) at Nemawar Road on Saturday saw officers exhibit both humane and tough sides to ensure things went on without any hitch.

IMC deputy commissioner Mahendra Singh Chouhan managed to avert a tragedy when he saved an elderly couple from getting seriously injured despite himself getting hurt in head.

The incident occurred when a JCB machine was pulling down a structure. An elderly couple in a bid to save their belongings, rushed inside a house adjacent to this structure. As the machine pulled down the structure, a hoarding that had been erected on it fell towards the house in which the couple was entering.

“I saw the hoarding coming down and instantly realised it will fall on the couple who were entering the house. I rushed to pull them away from the harm’s way. Though I managed to save them, I was hit on head by an iron rod attached to the hoarding,” said Chouhan.

He was immediately rushed to a hospital and provided treatment for the injury. However, instead of taking rest, he rushed back to Nemawar Road to supervise the remaining demolition work.

“All this is part of my duty. I have always taken measures to ensure safety of people including my staff. Such incidents have occurred earlier too but they do not deter me from performing my duty,” said Chouhan, who is often called ‘Singham’  for his looks and style of functioning. He has supervised a number of demolition drives undertaken by IMC including the recent ones at Banganga and Kesarbagh.

SDM forces politician to fall in line: In the morning when the drive started, local BJP leader Mahesh Paliwal arrived at the spot with a group of people and tried to disrupt the proceedings. He started raising objections and demanded that administrative and IMC officers sort out the problem of Chitawad Hammal Sangh before starting the drive.

Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Dr Varadmurti Mishra, who was accompanying the removal team, told Paliwal that all issues would be discussed after the drive was over.

On this, the BJP leader entered into an argument with Mishra. The SDM told him firmly that he was neither his (Paliwal’s) peon nor a kid to take orders from him.  He then ordered the team to proceed with the demolition.