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Mumbai: Even after a month of demolishing their homes and being evicted from their land, the residents of a slum in Chheda Nagar are still fighting for justice in the Gandhian way. Alleging the demolition to be an illegal and oppressive act, the residents are sitting on protest at the Azad Maidan daily for over a month and still wait for authorities to hear their pleas.
The Free Press Journal had reported last month that the Mumbai suburban district collector’s anti-demolition drive on June 24 at the Jai Ambe Nagar in Ghatkopar (E)’s Chheda Nagar had rendered around 160 families homeless during monsoon. The authorities claimed that the settlement fell in the buffer zone of a mangrove site and was demolished as it was a threat to the ecology. On the other hand the residents and activists alleged that the demolition was a violation of a government resolution which restricts demolition in monsoon.
However, after the demolition was carried out, the people were also evicted from the land and were allegedly lathicharged by the police when they tried to gather their important documents from the rubbles. The residents claim that the police refused to file a report when they visited the Tilak Nagar police station to file a complaint regarding the assault. In an attempt to demand justice against the eviction and the assault, the residents started a silent protest at the Azad Maidan on June 25.
Vitthalrao Sonawane, president of the Republican Jhopadi Sangh, said, “People were sitting on roads where they were again beaten up by the police and they finally settled under the freeway. A pregnant woman was also hit by the police during this lathi charge and one of the men who were beaten, fell ill and lost his life later in the hospital.”
The residents and members of the Republican Jhopadi Sangh have been sitting in protest for over a month now and still wait for their pleas to be heard. They demand that the government makes provision to use their place to provide residence to them instead of selling it off to any builder.
“We are sure there is a big builder playing the game from behind the curtain as three huge gates have already been installed at the location. All we want is to let the people set up their homes on that land again and if the government is planning to sell the land to a builder, it can also give a small piece of land to us and construct a residence. We will manage to pay the money that is required under the government scheme,” added Sonawane.
