Demolition And Cleanup Drive At Chandola Lake in Ahmedabad: Religious Sites And Hundreds Of Homes Cleared
Ahmedabad: In a renewed push to reclaim encroached land around Chandola Lake, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) launched another round of demolitions, this time targeting religious structures that were previously left untouched. The operation, carried out early Tuesday morning, saw the removal of illegal religious constructions, including both temples and mosques, amid tight police security.
The demolition began before sunrise as estate teams from AMC’s South Zone, supported by officials from other zones, moved in with heavy machinery. One of the most notable structures taken down was the Gareeb Nawab Mosque, regarded as the largest mosque in the Chandola area. Nearby, temples including a prominent Hanuman temple, along with smaller shrines, were also dismantled. Authorities confirmed that religious items and texts were carefully removed prior to the demolitions.
The action follows previous phases of the Chandola Lake anti-encroachment campaign. On May 20, AMC had cleared over 8,500 illegal structures in a single day using more than 50 machines, reclaiming nearly 2.5 lakh square meters of public land. Although most residential and commercial encroachments were addressed in earlier drives, some sensitive religious structures were initially spared, prompting criticism and legal reviews.
On May 21, the second day of phase two, AMC resumed demolitions and razed around 500 unauthorized homes and 20 religious sites. That operation drew large crowds, requiring enhanced police deployment to maintain order. With Tuesday’s renewed efforts, the municipal body has now turned its focus to the remaining seven to eight religious structures still standing in the lake area.
More than 500 police personnel, including senior officials from the city’s crime branch and Zone 6, were deployed to oversee the demolition and prevent any unrest. The effort was marked by tight coordination between AMC departments, with officers assigned to specific locations to ensure efficient execution.
Chandola Lake has long been plagued by illegal settlements, which have severely impacted the lake’s ecosystem and public access. The AMC’s ongoing campaign aims to restore the lakefront and convert the area into a public space free of unauthorized occupation. At present around 100 trucks and heavy machinery including four JCBs and 27 excavators are removing over 2,000 tonnes of debris every day. The construction and demolition waste is taken to the AMC’s C and D waste processing plant, where it will be converted into usable products.