The drive was carried out despite the fact that on Thursday dozens of sadhus and saints, along with their supporters, had staged a protest rally and submitted a memorandum to the District Collector against the administration's action. But the administration remained firm on its decision and the demolition of about 266 illegal structures, including 146 religious places constructed on the government land, commenced.

According to the district administration, 57 acres government land was encroached before the demolition began, and by Friday evening, 25,000 sq meter land was freed without any serious problem. To maintain law and order, close to 200 policemen have been deployed at the site and senior officers are monitoring the drive, sources said.

District Collector Ashwini Kumar said, "Drive will continue for two to three days. Prior to this, the administration had issued 266 notices to all those who had occupied the government land."

Kumar added, "Keeping in view the forthcoming Shivratri mela to be organised at the site, in which over ten lakh people take part every year, administration had no option left but to remove the encroachment." Asserting that people's safety and security is "our prime concern," he said, "We could not compromise on this issue. Before any untoward incident takes place, we want to ensure there is enough space to accommodate lakhs of people gathering at the mela."