Overview
- Banerjee, whose statement on Sunday night rejected the use of bulldozers in governance, said recent actions are stripping poor families and hawkers of shelter and work.
- Authorities have intensified anti-encroachment operations in Kolkata, using bulldozers to clear temporary structures at sites that include Howrah Station and Tiljala.
- Protests over these actions turned violent in Park Circus, where stone-pelting injured police officers, vehicles were vandalised, and heavy police and central forces were deployed.
- The Hindu reports the Tiljala clearances included an illegal factory tied to a fatal fire that killed three people, adding a public-safety rationale to the drives.
- Reporting links the push to the new BJP-led state government after the May 4 election, with Telegraph India citing thousands displaced while local officials call some clearances routine.