Residents of Green Garden, Rajdhani Colony, Shivapur
Colony and Vikas Nagar staged a protest here on Friday against
encroachments in their localities.

The residents had
noticed that several sheds had come up along the storm drains in their
areas in the past few days, and more were being built. When the
residents questioned those who had put up the sheds, they were told to
mind their business.

The protesters, a majority of
whom were women, first gathered at Kariyamma Devi Temple in Green Garden
and held a discussion there, before marching towards an area near the
temple premises where poles had been fixed to build sheds.

On
reaching the spot, some protesters started removing the poles. When
those who had built the sheds were found, they were asked if they had
permission to do that on municipal corporation land, and they replied in
the negative.

After clearing that area, the
protesters marched towards another site in Vikas Nagar. There, they
staged a demonstration and tried to remove the poles.

When
asked, those responsible for putting up the sheds on corporation land
clarified that they had not received the permission. They claimed that
work on the sheds had been stopped due to elections, and assured
protesters that work would continue only after permission was obtained.

Some
protesters told presspersons that because of the encroachments around
and over the storm drains, residents faced problems during rains as the
overflowing drain inundated the localities.

The police convinced protesters that the matter would be taken up with the municipal authorities.

Several
residents who led the protest said they would approach the Municipal
Commissioner and seek the removal of the encroachments.

The residents subsequently lodged a complaint with the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation.

When contacted, corporation officials clarified that the encroachments would be cleared in two days.