Over 50 hutments razed in Balongi

Over 50 migrant families were rendered homeless after their hutments were razed in Ambedkar Colony in Balongi,near Mohali,on Monday.

While the slumdwellers claimed to be staying in the temporary shelters for the last several years,the village panchayat alleged that only those dwellings were removed which had come up overnight to encroach upon common land in the village.

Around noon,the village panchayat members,with the help of police force,removed the illegal hutments from the colony.

Story continues below this ad

With most of the slumdwellers away at work,their families were allegedly asked to vacate the area without any prior notice. They were also reportedly not allowed any extra time to make the arrangements.

Following the removal of their shelters,the poor families sat haplessly as it poured heavily for almost an hour in the evening. We were living here since long and were uprooted after we refused to pay the unreasonably high monthly rent,which the panchayat members used to collect from us, alleged the migrants.

On the other hand,Sarpanch Makhan Singh said only those slums were removed which had come up overnight and those existing since long were left untouched as their cases were already pending before the court.

While refuting the allegations of collecting money from slumdwellers,the sarpanch accused them of subletting and selling the illegal hutments on the village land.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram