The situation got tense as the machines approached two temples on the riverbed. People claim the temples have been there for centuries.
After razing around 400 huts in a whirlwind demolition drive on Wednesday, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) on Thursday demolished 200 more such shanties in the Sabarmati riverbed under the newly constructed Rishi Dadhichi Bridge from Vadaj to Dudheshwar.
With Thursday's demolition, 6,000 people of the area are believed to have been rendered homeless.
AMC officials started the operation at around 11:00am and pressed six JCB machines into service. The situation got tense as the machines approached two temples on the riverbed. People claim the temples have been there for centuries.
Residents living near Bhairavnath temple were enraged after the officials uprooted an old banyan tree. They alleged that AMC officials are showing no mercy to anyone.
"After our homes were demolished, these trees are our only shelter in such scorching heat," said Zubaidabanu, one of the victims of the drive who is in search of an alternate shelter for her family. She also claimed that two bicycles were crushed when a tree fell on them.
Kamlesh Makwna, who lives near the Bhairavnath temple, said that AMC officials had assured them of not touching the temple.
"However, they arrived today with full force and demolished some portions of the temple, which is more than 100 years old," he said. He also claimed that police threatened to lock him up if he tried to salvage his belongings.
"We requested them to let us take our belongings before demolishing out houses, but they didn't allow us to take anything away," said Abdul, who allegedly lost everything under his demolished home.
The Chandra Maulishwar temple, said to be more than 300 years old, also became a flashpoint of controversy, when residents gathered near it and protested against its impending demolition.
"It houses a Shivling and a statue of Hanuman. It will deeply hurt our sentiments if AMC demolished it," said Ashok Solanki, a garment merchant and a regular visitor to the temple since his childhood.
Following strong protest by residents, AMC has temporarily halted the demolition activity near the temple.
By the end of the second day of the civic body's drive to clean huts from the Sabarmati riverbed for the Sabarmati riverfront development project, more than 6,000 people living in the area are believed to have lost their homes. Majority of them have started to shift their belongings to other places.
However, many are still homeless and are camping under the bridge or under the trees left in the riverbed.
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