Beautifying Varanasi? Displaced residents remind Modi of promised rehabilitation

By Rosamma Thomas*
“Democracy is not a system but the natural tendency of India,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the 82nd session of the All India Presiding Officers’ Conference over a video call. This apex body of the legislatures of India celebrates its 100th year this year. Meanwhile, in Prime Minister Modi’s parliamentary constituency Varanasi, people displaced for various beautification projects have been appealing for the rehabilitation earlier promised.
On Wednesday, as the prime minister spoke of Indian democracy in glowing terms, a fresh complaint was registered on the website of the Prime Minister’s Office from the people displaced. The 120 families displaced in Khidkiaghat have not been rehabilitated as earlier promised – only 21 families have received a government-provided home.
Residents of Sujabad have seen their hutments demolished twice over – once during a visit of the prime minister to the area in February 2020 as a memorial was being inaugurated for Deen Dayal Upadhyay, and a second time for Deepavali celebrations in November 2020.

The residents received no prior notice, and there was no rehabilitation plan in place, says Saurabh Singh, who had appealed to the governments several times in this matter. In all, about 500 people were rendered homeless in Sujabad and Khidkiaghat of Varanasi.
“On the night of November 29, 2020, over two dozen government officials visited the displaced families … before the Dev Deepawali celebration and assured them that they will be receiving land papers and proper rehabilitation in two days,” Singh’s complaint on the PMO website says.

It adds that the officials stayed with affected families all night, and then took them a kilometer away to Rajghat Bridge early the next morning. The residents were kept under observation all day there, without food or water, and only let free after the PM departed by 9 pm that day. It was cold that night, and one elderly person did not survive that ordeal.
Since then, these homeless people have been running from pillar to post for the rehabilitation the government had promised. Among those living in the open are young, adolescent girls. There are no medical facilities for them.

NGO Inner Voice Foundation has been providing them ration kits and blankets. Sharda, who lives in Khidkiaghat, said, “We are not educated and cannot expect government jobs. We get by with labour, we make some vessels for sale… but it is hard now that we are also homeless. It would be great if the government could offer rehabilitation. We have waited over a year now.”

Gulab, who has been waiting for rehabilitation at Sujabad said, “We have received a great deal of help from Inner Voice Foundation. Our families have little support, and it would be good if the government could help rebuild our homes.”
A call to the office of the chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh seeking a response on this matter was not put through to the senior bureaucrat. An email has been sent, and this report will be updated if a response is received.
---
*Freelance journalist based in Pune

Comments

Gujarat Information Commission issues warning against misinterpretation of RTI orders

By A Representative The Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) has issued a press note clarifying that its orders limiting the number of Right to Information (RTI) applications for certain individuals apply only to those specific applicants. The GIC has warned that it will take disciplinary action against any public officials who misinterpret these orders to deny information to other citizens. The press note, signed by GIC Secretary Jaideep Dwivedi, states that the Right to Information Act, 2005, is a powerful tool for promoting transparency and accountability in public administration. However, the commission has observed that some applicants are misusing the act by filing an excessive number of applications, which disproportionately consumes the time and resources of Public Information Officers (PIOs), First Appellate Authorities (FAAs), and the commission itself. This misuse can cause delays for genuine applicants seeking justice. In response to this issue, and in acc...

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

'MGNREGA crisis deepening': NSM demands fair wages and end to digital exclusions

By A Representative The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM), a coalition of independent unions of MGNREGA workers, has warned that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is facing a “severe crisis” due to persistent neglect and restrictive measures imposed by the Union Government.

Gandhiji quoted as saying his anti-untouchability view has little space for inter-dining with "lower" castes

By A Representative A senior activist close to Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar has defended top Booker prize winning novelist Arundhati Roy’s controversial utterance on Gandhiji that “his doctrine of nonviolence was based on an acceptance of the most brutal social hierarchy the world has ever known, the caste system.” Surprised at the police seeking video footage and transcript of Roy’s Mahatma Ayyankali memorial lecture at the Kerala University on July 17, Nandini K Oza in a recent blog quotes from available sources to “prove” that Gandhiji indeed believed in “removal of untouchability within the caste system.”

Targeted eviction of Bengali-speaking Muslims across Assam districts alleged

By A Representative A delegation led by prominent academic and civil rights leader Sandeep Pandey visited three districts in Assam—Goalpara, Dhubri, and Lakhimpur—between 2 and 4 September 2025 to meet families affected by recent demolitions and evictions. The delegation reported widespread displacement of Bengali-speaking Muslim communities, many of whom possess valid citizenship documents including Aadhaar, voter ID, ration cards, PAN cards, and NRC certification.

'Centre criminally negligent': SKM demands national disaster declaration in flood-hit states

By A Representative The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has urged the Centre to immediately declare the recent floods and landslides in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Haryana as a national disaster, warning that the delay in doing so has deepened the suffering of the affected population.

Saffron Kingdom – a cinematic counter-narrative to The Kashmir Files

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* “Saffron Kingdom” is a film produced in the United States by members of the Kashmiri diaspora, positioned as a response to the 2022 release “The Kashmir Files.” While the latter focused on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits and framed Kashmiri Muslims as perpetrators of violence, “Saffron Kingdom” seeks to present an alternate perspective—highlighting the experiences of Kashmiri Muslims facing alleged abuses by Indian security forces.

From lazy to lost? The myths and realities behind generational panic about youth

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak Older generations in many societies often describe the young with labels such as “lazy, unproductive, lost, anxious, depoliticised, unpatriotic or wayward.” Others see them as “social media, mobile phone and porn addicts.” Such judgments arise from a generational anxiety rooted in fears of losing control and from distorted perceptions about youth, especially in the context of economic crises, conflicts, and wars in which many young lives are lost.

'Govts must walk the talk on gender equality, right to health, human rights to deliver SDGs by 2030'

By A Representative With just 64 months left to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), global health and rights advocates have called upon governments to honour their commitments on gender equality and the human right to health. Speaking ahead of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), experts warned that rising anti-rights and anti-gender pushes are threatening hard-won progress on SDG-3 (health and wellbeing) and SDG-5 (gender equality).

Counterview

Search This Blog