A week after the states Public Works Department (PWD) evicted over 50 homeless families belonging to Masanjogi community,a denotified nomadic tribe,from a footpath in Mankhurd,the civic administration conducted another eviction drive in the same area on Thursday. The community members alleged the police assaulted them and some students of Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS) who tried restraining the police. Assistant municipal commissioner of the local ward,Kiran Dighavkar,said,The families that had been evicted by the PWD last week moved to the opposite pavement,which is not in the jurisdiction of PWD. We had to remove them as they were encroaching the footpath illegally. Dighavkar said the action was taken after residents of the housing society along the road complained of nuisance due to these people. The tribal families have been living on the footpaths of Neetu Manke Road near Agarwadi in Mankhurd for the past two years,said a senior civic official. A few months ago,we removed them from one side of the pavement after which they shifted to the opposite side. They are continuing to occupy either side of the road although both PWD and BMC have previously given them warnings to evict these footpaths, said a senior civic official. Despite the demands from these families,we cannot allow them alternate accommodation as they do not have any proof of residing in the area before 1995,which is the cut-off year for providing alternate accommodation to homeless, said Dighavkar. However,the tribal families alleged that BMC officials burnt their ration cards,voter ID cards and UID cards. We have nowhere to go. We have lived here for over two decades, said Ram Chandra,one of the tribals. A few tribals and students of TISS were taken to Trombay police station,where they were detained till late evening. The police beat up a few students too, said Alia Farooqui,a student. It was only after TISS director Dr S Parshuraman went to the police station that those detained were released. The BMC along with the Trombay police reached Agarwadi area in Mankhurd without any eviction notice. We have now shifted the tribals to TISS campus, said Dr Parsuraman. mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com
