Uprooted slumdwellers fell trees to rebuild homes

Uprooted slumdwellers fell trees to rebuild homes

Phase II Of Demolition Kept Under Wraps: BMC

Linah Baliga TNN

Mumbai: A day after the civic body demolished over a thousand illegal shanties at Ganpat Patil Nagar in Dahisar, slumdwellers had made preparations to reconstruct shanties by felling trees.
TOI had captured images of trees that were felled by the slum dwellers, a day before the demolition. However, a police cordon prevented slumdwellers from reconstructing tenements. The excavation and digging of trenches to deter resettling of slums has started by the civic body.

    On Friday, the BMC marked the periphery around the mangroves by digging a four-foot trench. “On Friday, we made a trench marking 50 metres away from the mangroves. We marked a boundary at the site of Thursday’s demolition,” said deputy municipal commissioner BR Marathe. “We will have a surprise demolition. The moment we declare dates, the opposition increases and slumdwellers become alert,” he added.
    For now, the BMC and police will continue to keep tabs on slumdwellers in the area.
    The BMC razed 1,410 illegal huts at Ganpat Patil Nagar near Kanderpada in Dahisar, in one of the biggest drives against encroachments in the western suburbs. On January 8, TOI reported on how mangroves faced destruction with around 8,000 unauthorized shanties having mushroomed on the coastal regulation zone-I land in Dahisar. MAKING OF THE SHANTY TOWN
    In 1995, there were 198 shanties in Ganpat Patil Nagar at Dahisar, slumdwellers’ names mentioned in the electoral roll
    Currently, approximately 8,000 illegal shanties have come up on coastal regulatory zone (CRZ-1) land
    Theft of water and power has increased with the proliferation of slums
BMC THROWS THE BOOK AT SQUATTERS
    On Thursday, the BMC razed 1,410 tenements. Around 150 workers pulled down the structures using seven JCBs and 10 dumpers
    Women from the slum blocked approach roads to the area and pelted the workers with stones
    Police warned them, but the protesters refused to disperse. Eleven people were arrested for rioting and wrongful restraint
    Even as the illegal homes were pulled down, Yashoda Yadav (35), who stayed in chawl 3, suffered a heart attack. A source claimed she watched the houses of her neighbours being destroyed, Yadav knew that hers was next in line and she could not bear the shock
    Yadav was taken to Bhagwati Hospital where she was declared dead on arrival
WIN FOR CAMPAIGNERS
    In 2010, the chairperson of New Link Road Residents Forum, Harischandra Pandey, along with other residents filed a PIL against the illegal constructions that had encroached on mangrove land in Ganpat Nagar
    Pandey said they got two high court orders that no “non-forest activity” harmful to the environment should be carried out
    In 2010, an effort was also made to implement a slum rehabilitation scheme in the area. However, residents opposed the move

Large tracts of mangroves faced destruction with around 8,000 unauthorized shanties that have mushroomed on the coastal regulation zone-I land in Dahisar