Ahmedabad: The district administration has launched a major demolition and encroachment removal drive covering nearly 4,000 square metres of government and private land to facilitate the four-laning of the Viramgam-Surendranagar-Vadhwan State Highway-17.

Officials said the operation targeted a long-standing traffic bottleneck at the entry point to Viramgam city. As part of the drive, several structures, including three dargahs, were demolished.

SDM Virendra Desai said around 1,200 square metres of private land and 2,300 square metres of graveyard land were acquired for the project. Compensation of ₹62 lakh was awarded to affected private landowners.

The operation was carried out using five JCBs, two Hitachi excavators, and 15 dumpers, with more than 550 police personnel deployed to maintain law and order.

DySP Tapan Kumar Dodiya said the road-widening project aims to remove Viramgam’s historic bottleneck and improve traffic flow and connectivity in the region. DeshGujarat