At debris of their demolished homes, Delhi schoolchildren pick up the pieces

The demolition followed a Delhi High Court order, which held that the slum cluster did not exist before January 1, 2006, and was, therefore, not protected under existing rules. The Central Public Works Department and Municipal Corporation of Delhi were ordered to provide the machinery for the exercise. The demolition was part of other similar drives across Delhi, including in Trilokpuri, Khajoori Khas, Narela, Aya Nagar, Green Park and Sadar Bazar.

Among the things lost in the rubble were some of his term books, said Arfan, whose father is a car mechanic. “A friend in school helps me out now.”

On that Tuesday afternoon, Arfan was among several children playing on the precarious pile of rubble, all of them in dusty school uniforms. In addition to DPS Mathura Road, these children attend Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya (SKV) Pandara Road, SKV Jangpura and Satyawati Sood Arya Girls Senior Secondary School.

The adults, meanwhile, were trying to dig out belongings from under the debris, or simply sitting around with neighbours and family members.

“On the way back from school, we come and sit here till it gets colder in the evening, and then leave. They play here for some time, and because of the demolished material they are tearing their uniform or destroying their shoes,” said Mumtaz Abbasi, 30, whose daughter, Ziya, studies in class 7 at DPS Mathura Road.

Land and Development Officer, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Suvashish Das, said: “A demolition/eviction drive… was done with the approval of the competent authority, in pursuance of contempt cases and orders passed by the Delhi High Court.”

He said the Delhi High Court had directed the L&DO on August 23, 2023, to immediately remove the unauthorised construction and encroachment at the government land in question. He said the court, in its order on October 19, 2023, referred to the order of a Division Bench on February 2, 2019 that directed the government to remove the encroachments in accordance with the law as early as possible. The court also said if the unauthorised construction was not removed and a status report not filed, it would be constrained to initiate contempt proceedings against the land-owning department and its officials.

For the affected families, the aftermath of the demolition was spent scrambling for accommodation that would be close to the school.

Mumtaz said they moved to a rented place in Sarai Kale Khan. “We need to live somewhere close by since the school is here. Our schedule now revolves around dropping them off in the morning, picking them up in the afternoon, and then coming here. Jab tak himmat hai, inko school bhejenge (for as long as we can, we will send them to school),” said Mumtaz, whose husband is a tailor. While she has been living in their now demolished home for 16 years, her husband’s family has been there for longer, she said.

Sitting on a pile of rubble along with other women from their family and her toddler, Arfan’s mother, 30-year-old Shahana, said: “We also moved to Sarai Kale Khan. The rent is high. It can be over Rs 5,500 for a single room. Then, from there, since we need to drop the children off to school and pick them up, transport expenses are involved. Iske term books dab gaye (his term books were stuck under the debris). We come to sit here during the day because we don’t want to leave, and don’t want anybody to forget that our homes were here. We want to be able to live here.”

Shahana said Arfan had taken admission at the school under the EWS category.

Harish, a class 6 student at DPS Mathura Road, said he lost his uniform in the demolition. His father, a gardener at the school, got him a new one. “Some of us didn’t go to school for some time after the demolition. We used to play here before, but now we stop here on the way back from school. Our friends are all here,” he said.

There is no place to play here anymore,” Arfan said, while Nancy, a class 4 student at SKV Pandara Road, chimes in that there will be space once all the debris is cleared.

Rihana, 28, whose nephew, Faizan, is a class 3 student at DPS Mathura Road, said the family has moved to the Nizamuddin Basti. “Rent is around Rs 8,000 for a one-BHK (bedroom, hall, kitchen). His books we recovered from under the debris,” Rihana said.

Abdul Latif, who works as a driver, and whose daughter Alia Khan is in class 3 at DPS Mathura Road, said his family, too, now rents a house at Nizamuddin Basti. “We need to stay close by for the school. She got admission under the EWS category,” he said.

At around 4.30 pm, a little less than two hours after they walked from school to the site of their homes, Arfan walked back with Shahana along a pathway flanked by rubble, the same path they took to school that foggy morning. This time, he holds the plastic bat. “It has been very cold these past few mornings, but fortunately school timings are a little later. We take a bus or rickshaw from Sarai Kale Khan and then walk by this area to the school,” Shahana said.