New Sanganer Road families pack up as demolition fear becomes reality

Jaipur: New Sanganer Road looked less like a market than a corridor of half-packed lives on Wednesday morning.From Sodala to Gurjar ki Thadi, shop shutters were pulled up not for business but to drag out sewing machines, cartons, deity frames, school bags and steel trunks.Supreme Court has rejected a stay petition filed by affected residents and traders and the high court has not granted protection against JDA notices. That uncertainty has become an order.Manju Sharma (48) stood inside her garment shop, pointing to chalk marks on the wall. Her in-laws, she said, have lived in the two-storey building for more than 60 years. She has run the shop on the ground floor for over 20 years.“JDA has marked around 28 feet from the road as encroachment, but our house itself is only 26 feet wide,” Sharma said. “That means nothing will remain. We paid more than Rs 3 lakh as civic tax to Jaipur Municipal Corporation this year. Now we are carrying our home away in bags.”Her family has rented a small apartment in Vaishali Nagar and begun shifting utensils, clothes and documents.A little ahead, Anupama Meena’s family had already sent some belongings to their native village in Dausa. Their tailoring shop runs from the front portion of the house. After demolition, they say, Dausa may become their only address.“We were rehabilitated here after my in-laws were removed from the railway station area in the 1970s,” Meena said. “After 50 years, we are refugees again. They have marked our shop and three of four rooms as encroachments.”Traders said they feared machines arriving without warning. “If we wait, we may not even save our stock,” one shopkeeper said.A JDA enforcement official said demolition would begin soon against properties having JDA and society pattas. “Cases involving JMC pattas are being examined with legal experts,” the official said.You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Jaipur | Silver Rate in Jaipur | Bank Holidays in Jaipur | Public Holidays in Jaipur | Jaipur AQI | Weather in Jaipur | Petrol Price in Jaipur | Diesel Price in Jaipur | CNG Price in Jaipur | LPG Price in JaipurStay updated with the latest Jaipur news. Download the TOI App.