3 min readChandigrahNov 10, 2013 03:05 AM IST
First published on: Nov 10, 2013 at 03:05 AM IST
The newly constructed rehabilitation colony at Dhanas is becoming the hub of encroachers with vendors having set shop in the complex. From making tea and pakoras to selling packed items,everything is available on the roadside. While the residents of the colony were already making changes in the structures of the tenements,encroachers are now thriving.
Every few meters in the colony a vendor can be found. Some have created temporary structures to sell items,others are laying out items on beds and selling these outside the houses allotted. While this is done in most of the illegal colonies where the encroachers resided,the same can now be seen in this newly constructed colony.
The rehabilitation colony has been set up with funds from the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission. Based on the biometric survey done in 2006,slum-dwellers from different colonies in the city are to be shifted here. The Estate Office recently issued a notice asking for slum-dwellers to vacate the colonies where they are residing in within 20 days and shift to Dhanas where tenements have been allocated.
Families have gradually started shifting,but there are not many who express satisfaction with the facilities having been provided. One of the main problems is that water is yet to reach every house. At present,a pipe has been provided in a park. People can be seen washing clothes and bathing there.
Subhawati,who shifted from Colony Number 5 to Dhanas few days back said fetching water for the daily needs is a problem. She said that every day several buckets of water are required which she has to ferry to her house. She further rued about the lack of space in the tenements to accommodate her family of six.
Another beneficiary Apsara Bano is among those who are reluctant to shift. She says that the notice given to them is too short and it will be difficult for her to shift to the colony. With a family of eight to be accommodated in the hutment,Bano said there is a need for making modifications to make space for everyone.
In fact there is little development that has taken place in the colony after the visit of the Prime Minister to hand over keys to the beneficiaries. Some parks have been dug up to lay pipelines. The carpeting of roads has not been completed yet. The manhole covers that were laid in one part of the colony have been stolen.
The rehabilitation colony has 8,448 tenements. A population of more than 40,000 is expected to reside here. With this,the vast area occupied by the residents of Colony Number 5 is expected to get vacated. While some of the vacated land would be used for constructing roads,the remaining would be fenced to avoid further encroachments.
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