‘Thank you municipal corporation for leaving me alive’:Road-widening drive leaves doctor with life-threatening head injury

Heavy machinery was operating dangerously close to our homes. During the demolition, electric wires became entangled in the machine. When the JCB operator tried to pull them free, an electric pole was uprooted and fell directly on my head. I lost consciousness and lay there for a long time. These are the words of Dr Kapil Dixit, a homeopathic practitioner from Indore, who suffered a serious head injury during the Indore Municipal Corporation’s road-widening drive in the Cantonment area on May 22. What began as an anti-encroachment exercise has left behind more than demolished structures and scattered belongings. For one family, the operation resulted in a life-threatening injury and trauma that may never fully heal. Dr Dixit sustained severe head injuries and had to undergo emergency brain surgery. He remained hospitalised for several days before being discharged on May 27. After returning home, he put up a banner outside his residence that read: “Thank you, Municipal Corporation and Administration, for leaving me alive.” Speaking to Bhaskar, he recounted the sequence of events that led to the accident. See pictures of the action… ‘My father could have been killed’ According to Dr Dixit, the incident was not limited to the injury he suffered outside the house. During the demolition drive, a machine allegedly struck the first-floor wall of his residence without prior warning. The impact caused part of the wall to collapse, bringing down an air-conditioner, a bed and other household belongings. “It was fortunate that my elderly father was not inside the room at the time. Otherwise, the consequences could have been far more serious,” he said. Residents given only 24 hours’ notice Dr Dixit said municipal and police officials had visited the area on May 12 and discussed a phased plan under which traffic would be regulated and residents would be given sufficient time to remove the affected portions of their properties themselves. However, he claims the plan was never implemented. “Instead, on the evening of May 20, residents were suddenly served a 24-hour notice warning of imminent action,” he said. ‘We were removing structures ourselves’ According to residents, some property owners had started removing the remaining portions of their constructions on May 21 after temporarily restricting traffic movement on the road. However, police officials allegedly halted the exercise, saying they had not received instructions regarding such activity. The following day, authorities launched a large-scale demolition drive using Poclain excavators and JCB machines, accompanied by a heavy police presence. Residents question safety measures The incident has triggered sharp criticism from local residents, who are questioning both the urgency and the manner in which the operation was carried out. “If people were willing to cooperate and remove the structures themselves, why was there such haste?” Dr Dixit asked. Residents have also raised concerns over whether adequate safety protocols were followed during the demolition. “Why was the area not completely evacuated before heavy machinery was deployed? Was it necessary to put people’s lives at risk in the name of road widening?” they asked. What happened in the Cantonment area is no longer being viewed merely as an encroachment-removal exercise. For many residents, it has become a case study in administrative insensitivity and inadequate safety planning. While most acknowledge the need for infrastructure development, they argue that development cannot come at the cost of public safety. High Court stay on three buildings The proposed master-plan road in the Cantonment area has been the subject of prolonged protests and litigation. Disputes have centred on the road’s width and the alignment adopted by authorities. Senior Advocate Jayesh Gurnani, appearing for affected residents, said the High Court has granted a stay on action against three structures located along the stretch — Mathurawala Sweets, Basant Rawat’s building and the LIC building. Gurnani argued that the Cantonment master plan does not have a proper zoning plan, raising questions about the alignment used for the proposed 80-foot-wide road. “As a result, demolition has allegedly been uneven. In some places, structures have been removed beyond the required limits, while in others, less demolition has taken place,” he said. Large-scale demolition drive On May 22, the Municipal Corporation carried out demolition of allegedly obstructing portions of 124 houses. The operation involved seven Poclain excavators and ten JCB machines. Around 150 municipal officials and employees, 150 police personnel, and members of the district administration were deployed at the site.