The Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) demolished around 100 lawyers’ chambers near the Qaiserbagh court area on Sunday, with nearly 100 more structures remaining on its list, as protests over the lack of alternative accommodation brought the demolition drive to a halt at one point.
LMC teams razed structures allegedly built on government land, drains and footpaths, extending the operation towards Balrampur Hospital. Personnel from the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) and the Public Works Department (PWD) also joined the drive. Officials have collected the relevant records and will decide the next course of action in accordance with the court’s directions. Further action against the remaining structures will depend on the court’s orders.
The civic body identified 211 chambers during a demarcation exercise and launched the drive following High Court orders. The demolition began around 10 am amid heavy police deployment on Rani Laxmibai Marg near the Residency crossing. Additional Municipal Commissioner Pankaj Srivastava said the LMC had also identified around seven bighas of land near Gate 4 of the Qaiserbagh court where chambers allegedly encroach upon public land. The civic body demolished 72 structures on May 17 and another 71 on August 30, taking the total removed in those drives to 143.
Advocates protested against the removal of workplaces they said they had used for decades without arrangements for rehabilitation.
The latest drive follows two earlier operations in the area.
