Mumbai slum demolition began 10 hrs before notice period was to end, sans any rehabilitation: GBGBA

Why did hundreds of shanties go up in flames amidst the demolition drive undertaken by the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday? In a strongly-worded statement, the Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan (GBGBA), a Mumbai-based civil rights organization, has blamed it on accidents caused by gas cylinders getting exploded and a "response" to the surprise BMC move.
Pointing out that the BMC is now up for "second phase of demolition without offering any relief/rehabilitation", GBGBA says, it has been "flouting basic norms to be followed before any eviction and the police is harassing the evicted persons who are living in open and have nowhere to go."
Calling it "the most brutal demolition drive carried out by the BMC", leading to "burning of hundreds of shanties of poor", GBGBA said, the BMC "issued a 48 hours’ notice prior to the demolition drive; however, it came down to demolish shanties merely after 15 hours in a total surprise manner without even allowing people to save their belongings or move to a safer place."

Pointing out that that the BMC is wrongfully "putting blame on the slum dwellers for causing fire to save their house", GBGBA said, "If someone believes BMC then one can imagine the magnitude of helplessness of those who went to the extent of burning their own houses."
"Seriousness of a 48 hours’ notice can be understood by the order of the Bombay High Court passed on Friday in which it stayed the demolition of another slum", GBGBA insisted, adding, "Activists of GBGBA pointed this out before the Bombay High Court on Friday when the revenue officials came to demolish the slum in Four Bungalows in Versova named Siddharth Nagar. This slum is saved as of now."
Pointing out that "those who have been evicted from Garib Nagar are left to live in open without any rehabilitation or relief offered to them", GBGBA said, "Even this was not enough; police kept on thrashing those living on road and even threatening to arrest the evicted persons."

"Since the demolition was surprise in nature, nobody got the chance to save their belonging. There is a greater chance of bursting one or the other gas cylinder that were kept in almost all the houses. Locals even allege that the power supply was not cut before carrying out the demolition", claimed GBGBA.
It added, "BMC’s cold heartedness can be seen in the videos in which bulldozer found continuing demolition even when houses were burning", adding, "The demolition is being carried out at the behest of a Bombay high Court’s order, which only ordered removal of shanties near the Tansa pipeline."
"However, nowhere in the order did the court ask the civic body to resort to such brutalities. Evictions have been taking place in other parts of Mumbai of the shanties near Tansa pipeline followed by rehabilitation; however in no other case such atrocities were faced by the shanty dwellers."
"Putting blame for causing fire, on the poor resident with least representation becomes easy and easier especially when it is a Muslim majority settlement", argues GBGBA, adding, "Evicted persons are getting two times meals from local community kitchen, thanks to local shopkeepers' and residents' efforts."

Comments

Irrational? Basis for fear among Hindus about being 'swamped' by Muslims

I was amused while reading an article titled "Ham Paanch, Hamare Pachees", shared on Facebook, by well-known policy analyst Mohan Guruswamy, an alumnus of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Guruswamy, who has also worked as an advisor to the Finance Minister with the rank of Secretary to the Government of India, seeks to probe, as he himself states, "the supposed Muslim attitude to family planning"—a theme that was invoked by Narendra Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister ahead of the December 2002 assembly polls.

Why's Australian crackdown rattling Indian students? Whopping 25% fake visa applications

This is what happened several months ago. A teenager living in the housing society where I reside was sent to Australia to study at a university in Sydney with much fanfare. The parents, whom I often met as part of a group, would tell us how easily the boy got his admission with the help of "some well-meaning friends," adding that they had obtained an education loan to ensure he could study at a graduate school.

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

Gujarat slips in India Justice Report 2025: From model state to mid-table performer

Overall ranking in IJR reports The latest India Justice Report (IJR), prepared by legal experts with the backing of several civil society organisations and aimed at ranking the capacity of states to deliver justice, has found Gujarat—considered by India's rulers as a model state for others to follow—slipping to the 11th position from fourth in 2022.

Punishing senior citizens? Flipkart, Shopsy stop Cash on Delivery in Ahmedabad!

The other day, someone close to me attempted to order some goodies on Flipkart and its subsidiary Shopsy. After preparing a long list of items, this person, as usual, opted for the Cash on Delivery (popularly known as COD) option, as this senior citizen isn't very familiar with online prepaid payment methods like UPI, credit or debit cards, or online bank transfers through websites. In fact, she is hesitant to make online payments, fearing, "I may make a mistake," she explained, adding, "I read a lot about online frauds, so I always choose COD as it's safe. I have no knowledge of how to prepay online."

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Of lingering shadow of Haren Pandya's murder during Modi's Gujarat days

Sunita Williams’ return to Earth has, ironically, reopened an old wound: the mysterious murder of her first cousin, the popular BJP leader Haren Pandya, in 2003. Initially a supporter of Narendra Modi, Haren turned against him, not sparing any opportunity to do things that would embarrass Modi. Social media and some online news portals, including The Wire , are abuzz with how Modi’s recent invitation to Sunita to visit India comes against the backdrop of how he, as Gujarat’s chief minister, didn’t care to offer any official protocol support during her 2007 visit to Gujarat.

Area set aside in Ahmedabad for PM's affordable housing scheme 'has gone to big builders'

Following my article on affordable housing in Counterview, which quoted a top real estate consultant, I was informed that affordable housing—a scheme introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi—has deviated from its original intent. A former senior bureaucrat, whom I used to meet during my Sachivalaya days, told me that an entire area in Ahmedabad, designated for the scheme, has been used to construct costly houses instead.

Just 5% Gujarat Dalit households 'recognise' social reformers who inspired Ambedkar

An interesting survey conducted across 22 districts and 32 villages in Gujarat sheds light on the representation of key social reformers in Dalit households. It suggests that while Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's photo was displayed in a majority of homes, images of Lord Buddha and the 19th-century reformist couple, Savitribai Phule and Jyotiba Phule, were not as commonly represented.

Search This Blog