A demolition operation carried out at a bird market in Lahore’s Bhati Chowk area, near Data Darbar, has become mired in controversy, with shopkeepers accusing the Punjab government of killing dozens of birds and other caged pets, allegations the government has denied.

The operation was conducted on Wednesday morning by joint teams of the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) and the Traffic Engineering and Transport Planning Agency (Tepa) to launch the Bhaati Chowk remodeling project, aiming to reduce traffic congestion and control pollution.

“The market consisted of a total of 149 shops, including some tuck (pan) shops. Around 13 to 14 [shops] were situated in the front, where the shopkeepers were able to take out the birds and cages late at night. The other shopkeepers could not do this since they closed the shops in the evening as per routine,“ Bahu Khan, Lahore Bhaati bird association office bearer told Dawn.

“Thus, all birds (parrots, sparrows, etc) were buried to death after the field operation teams raised all structures with heavy machinery,” Khan lamented.

The shopkeepers lashed out at the government for not even giving them adequate time to evacuate their birds and pets worth millions of rupees.

On the other hand, the government has rejected the allegations, claiming that not a single bird was killed during the operation.

“All shopkeepers were aware of this operation already, and our teams also helped them shift birds and other goods to other places,” LDA director general Tahir Farooq claimed in a telephonic conversation with Dawn.

“The pictures being shown on the media are fake, as not a single bird was injured,” Farooq said, calling it a “propaganda by the shopkeepers to defame the government” and adding that “some political elements are running this campaign against the government”.

Meanwhile, horrified after seeing videos from the demolition site, netizens have termed the action “cruel” and “inhumane”.