3 min readNew DelhiAug 28, 2014 02:03 AM IST
First published on: Aug 28, 2014 at 02:03 AM IST
Demolition of homes in Pul Bangash that fell between two parts of the Rani Jhansi flyover (in the background) began on Wednesday; (Right) Newsline report on Aug 21. ( Source: Express photo by Tashi Tobgyal )
Despair hung in the air as residents of Nawab Ganj, Pul Bangash, watched bulldozers raze their houses to the ground. Although most residents had moved out before the deadline for eviction ended on Wednesday, many were hoping that the demolition could somehow be stopped.
The houses were being demolished to make way for North Municipal Corporation’s partly-constructed Rani Jhansi flyover, the two ends of which are separated by houses of 170 families.
The grade separator, which was sanctioned in the 1990s and the foundation stone laid in 2008, was expected to be completed in 27 months. Nearly five years and several eviction notices and court cases later, the municipal corporation decided to push forward with the construction and handed over the site to the Land Acquisition Collector.
With the demolition likely to be completed in two or three days, the construction of the flyover is likely to be completed soon. But, the civic body remains unsure of where the evicted families are going to be rehabilitated. The corporation is awaiting clearance from the government for a new site.
Meanwhile, questioning the “price of development”, residents complained that the government had ignored them and left them homeless and without compensation or alternative accommodation.
Rajesh Gupta (35), who grew up in the locality, said he had only a week’s notice to find alternative accommodation for his family and shift his children to a different school. “Even if they had moved us to tents in a slum, it would have been better than this uncertainty about our future,” he said.
Others are resentful because many lived and worked in the complexes. With the buildings now demolished, residents say that they have now been “robbed of their means of income” as well.
The North Municipal Corporation had earlier stated that the site has been handed over to the Land Acquisition Collector and the designated compensation amount of Rs 70 crore had also been transferred. However, the residents claimed that they have not received any money.
Families are now renting houses around Nawab Ganj till a new site for relocation is provided by the government.
“People in the area knew that we were going to be evicted so they increased the rent. Now, I have no income and I have to pay Rs 15,000 a month,” Aquil Ahmad, who runs a stationery store in the area, said. Since the eviction notice was sent out, Aquil hung a notice outside his shop to remind customers that it would be closed down.
Demolition of homes in Pul Bangash that fell between two parts of the Rani Jhansi flyover (in the background) began on Wednesday; (Right) Newsline report on Aug 21. ( Source: Express photo by Tashi Tobgyal )
Share
