Skip to main content

Khorigaon demolition: People being 'brutally' evicted, cops 'restricting' food, water

By Ishita Chatterjee, Neelesh Kumar, Manju Menon, Vimal Bhai*

On July 23, the Faridabad Municipal Corporation told the Supreme Court that they have cleared 74 acres out of 150 acres. Despite the affidavit of the Municipal Corporation, the court, on the complaint of various litigants, that the arrangements for living, food etc. have not been made for the people. 
The Apex Court has asked the litigants to send their application to the municipal commissioner of Municipal Corporation of Faridabad. In case of no action, the court will look into it on the next date.
The court has also said that apart from this, any other illegal structure on the forest land should be removed. The court also gave time to the litigants to file their comments on the draft rehabilitation policy prepared by the corporation in the court within one day. which we are sending.
The affidavit of the Faridabad Municipal Corporation filed in the Supreme Court is completely different from the ground reality. The ground reality is that demolitions are ongoing and approximately 1000 more homes have been demolished.
Since July 15 when actual eviction began police brutalities upon residents are ongoing. A few days back one woman attempted suicide by hanging out of despair when her house was demolished and a man named Rajni jumped from his roof. Unobstructed by the police he sustained grievous injuries for which he is now hospitalised in the trauma centre.
Relief workers are also preventing the distribution of food and water and threatening them with arrest. Residents are even being prevented from going to the medical store despite the fact that many have fallen sick, living out in the open during the monsoon rains amid the demolished ruins fo their homes. Even pregnant women are not being provided a place to sit.
Police have even gone so far as to overturn containers in which food is being cooked for being distributed. As Khorigaon resident Pinky says, “Our houses have been demolished and we have been in the rain all night. We have no place to stay, where should we go and what do I do with my small children, with my family? We don’t even have food to eat now.”
Journalist Samit Yadav from the media outlet "The Tsunami" was blocked from filming. His crew members were threatened with an attempt to murder case under Section 307 of the IPC. Their phones were snatched away and their videos of the demolition were deleted, as well as their photographs of the contrast between the working class homes being destroyed and the encroaching hotels which are being given a free pass with no demolitions.
On the orders of the Supreme Court, the people who were humiliated by the Haryana government from Khori village, deprived of health services, living under the shadow of the police are sending letters to the Municipal Corporation. They have written in the letter that till now there is no government system for shelter, food, water, health and defecation for the desolate people.
We urgently demand that all the evicted and affected people be provided the following until proper rehabilitation is done:
  1. Shelter, till complete rehabilitation
  2. Food, milk and dry food for children along with cooked food.
  3. Water, For drinking water and other needs.
  4. Moving Van Toilet (MVT).
  5. Health-related assistance in which doctors, ambulances and hospital assistance are needed.
---
*On behalf of Concern Citizens for Khorigaon and National Alliance of People’s Movements

Comments

TRENDING

Planning failures? Mysuru’s traditional water networks decline as city expands

By Prajna Kumaraswamy, Mansee Bal Bhargava   The tropical land–water-scape of India shapes every settlement through lakes, ponds, wetlands, and rivers. Mysuru (Mysore) is a city profoundly shaped by both natural and humanly constructed water systems. For generations, it has carried a collective identity tied to the seasonal rhythms of the monsoon, the life-giving presence of the Cauvery and Kabini rivers , and the intricate network of lakes and ponds that dot the cityscape. Water transcends being merely a resource; it is part of collective memory, embedded in place names, agricultural heritage, and the very land beneath our feet. In an era of rapid urbanization and climate-induced land–water transformations, understanding this profound relationship with the land–water-scape is strategic for sustainability, resilience, and even survival.

Activists Akriti, Satyam Verma face NSA in Noida protest case: PUCL

By A Representative   Human rights activist Kavita Shrivastava has alleged that the Uttar Pradesh Police is invoking the National Security Act (NSA) against two activists associated with Mazdoor Bigul in connection with the Noida workers’ protest case, even as labour unrest continues to spread across industrial belts in several northern states.

Why was this BJP leader forced to call off marriage of his daughter with Muslim boy?

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  A marriage of two individuals belonging to different faiths was ultimately postponed as the 'champions' of the social morality dominated the discourse and threatened the father of the girl who happened to be the chairman of Pauri city municipality. Yashpal Benam, a BJP leader, posted the invitation of his daughter's wedding with a Muslim boy from Uttar Pradesh. Both the boy and the girl became friend during their B Tech course and were in relationship. There were reports that they already got married in the court but we don't know the reality. Perhaps the family of the girl wanted to send a message of 'acceptability' and 'appreciation' of such a marriage by the society. Invitations were sent to all but soon after it went wide spread on the social media, the champion of Hindu dharma jumped into the fray and started threatening the father. There were hundreds of calls asking the father hundreds of questions about the marriage. What...