While evictions of the poor from their huts and small houses should be avoided as far as possible in all circumstances, the situation since the pandemic appeared has been all the more difficult for the weaker sections as they suffered very big losses in earnings and employment. What is more weather conditions have also been becoming more adverse in these[Read More…]
The Ghunghutipada slum in ward no.17 of Sambalpur Municipal Corporation is home to more than 200 households belonging to scheduled castes (SCs). About 400 years back the then king Rajabalaram Deo had engaged their forefathers to beat drums during temple rituals and also to maintain the cleanliness of the temple premises. Since then they have been staying over the land[Read More…]
If the homeless people faced a difficult time earlier in heat wave conditions, they are now suffering due to heavy rain in many places. Yet concerns relating to them hardly ever become a leading concern, except perhaps for a very few days in a year in a few places where deaths on footpaths caused by cold wave are reported. The[Read More…]
In recent times urban poor households have faced great difficulties due to the pandemic as well as loss of livelihoods and income. In such times they need help and certainly nothing should be done which will increase their difficulties. So it is really very disturbing to know that thousands of hut and slum dwellers have been recently threatened by[Read More…]
In Khori Gaon, hundreds of families have been displaced and thousands of houses are being brutally demolished each day. After the completion of the demolition drive, the destitute working-class residents are being forced to live without any shelter. They are also being immediately and forcibly removed from the area and being threatened with police action. Despite the order of the[Read More…]
Dalit families targeted in Demolition Drive Undertaken by Bangalore Development Authority in Doddabettahalli (Yelahanka Hobli, Bangalore North) In a most shocking development, officials of the Bangalore Development Authority, backed by Bangalore Police, destroyed about 10 houses of villagers of Doddabettahalli. Each and every one of the families affected were from Dalit communities. In a similar drive, about 22 houses had been demolished at Somashettahalli, MedaAgrahara and Lakshmipura villages of the[Read More…]
Since 14th July, the Haryana Government has been brutally demolishing houses built by Khori Gaon residents who have been living on this land for decades. Along with the bulldozers the residents have also been dealing with police violence and harassment simultaneously. The Municipal Corporation of Faridabad framed a draft policy for rehabilitation of Khori Gaon residents 5 weeks after the[Read More…]
20th July, 2021: This public hearing was organised to hear the affected citizens of Khorigaon and understand the status of implementation of the Supreme Court’s order of 7 June 2021. The Jury members included Environmentalist Ashish Kothari, Environmentalist Claude Alvares, Social Activist Ms. Anjali Bhardwaj, Adv. Tripti Poddar, Housing Right Activist, Prof. Amita Bhide from TISS, Mumbai and Prof. Bittu K.[Read More…]
GENEVA (16 July 2021) – UN human rights experts* today called on India to halt evictions of some 100,000 people – including 20,000 children – that began this week in the midst of monsoon rains. Demolition of homes began on Wednesday, 14 July, in a village in Haryana State built on protected forest land, even though the forest was actually[Read More…]
Delhi and Haryana governments cannot shy away from the responsibility of the Khorigaon people. Without a feasible rehabilitation plan, stop the demolition in the midst of monsoon. Demolition continued in Khori village during the first monsoon rains in Delhi. Sitting in the comfort of her office, Garima Mittal, the commissioner of Faridabad Municipality, carried out the demolition drive. On July[Read More…]
Not too far from the border of Delhi, Haryana’s Khori village has been the site of an unwavering protest movement. After a Supreme Court order on June 07, 2021 mandated the demolition of the slums of Khori village, the residents of the village took to protesting to save their houses. Most of the residents at the village are migrants from[Read More…]
In the middle of a raging pandemic no demolition of houses should take place and no one should be made homeless or evicted from their established place of residence. This simple statement has a universal resonance. Take it to any part of world, to anyone concerned with basic human values, not to mention human rights, and they will endorse this.[Read More…]
Struggle for Right to Life, Housing and Rehabilitation of 1 lakh people continues.. New Delhi, 18 June,2021: The 50 year old secular Khori village, near Surajkund tourist spot (Faridabad, Harayana), inhabited by various sections is on the verge of being uprooted because of the Supreme Court order. Despite the existence of various farmhouses and high rise hotel buildings , the[Read More…]
NAPM Condemns the unjustifiable order of the Supreme Court to Evict around One Lakh Residents of Khori Gaon, Haryana, without Rehabilitation in the Middle of the Pandemic Right to Housing of Working-Class people Living in Precarious Conditions is inalienable: ‘Environmental Protection’ cannot be an excuse to deprive vulnerable people of shelter 15th June, 2021: National Alliance of People’s Movements denounces[Read More…]
Housing right or the right to shelter is a very basic human right that deserves universal recognition and respect. This needs to be re-emphasized at a time when some decisions in violation of this are being taken and there are a lot of apprehensions regarding whether these may become more frequent. Of course no right can be absolute or arbitrary,[Read More…]
NAPM Stands with the Migrant Labourers of Ahmedabad Demanding Basic Living Facilities The past year has exposed the dire situation of migrant workers across India, who continue to work in precarious conditions. On 15th February, 2021, almost 1000 migrant labourers, members of the labour union Majur Adhikar Manch, gathered in Ahmedabad in front of the District Collector’s office, to submit a[Read More…]
The Modi government has been selling the dream of a ‘Smart City’ to the citizens for years now and has spent thousands of crores on this scheme across the country. In the ranking released by the Government of India in September 2020, Varanasi held the ‘first place’ in the country. It is claimed that ‘world class’ facilities would be provided[Read More…]
Janhastakshep takes serious note of and unequivocally condemns the inhuman, illegal and unethical demolition of thousands of houses (Jhuggis) of the Indian citizens along the railway lines near Keshavpuram and Nangloi in Delhi, the day before yesterday (10th September 2020), by the Railway authorities and Delhi Police under the pretext of Supreme Court Order, 31 august 2020, by a bench[Read More…]
People Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) expresses its disappointment at the decision of the Supreme Court of India dated 31.08.2020 in `M.C. Mehta v Union Of India & Ors’ (Writ Petition No. 13029/1985), and condemns the direction to demolish within the next three months over 48,000 homes of the urban poor in Delhi as being in complete violation of the[Read More…]
It is a matter of concern that the Government of Odisha and its agencies such as Bhubaneswar Municipality Corporation (BMC), Bhubaneswar Development Authorities (BDA) made a forcible attempt on 6th July 2020 to demolish the houses of 431 urban poor families of Tarini Bustee at Damana square of Bhubaneswar. Odisha. As per media report, the authorities armed with large contingent[Read More…]
Co-Written by Ankit Jha & Anand Lakhan On the morning of May 23rd 2018 more than 110 houses were demolished at Bhuri Tekri in Indore by Indore Municipal Corporation. Houses were demolished for the rehabilitation of people under the in-situ slum redevelopment component of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U). Most of the residents belong to Dalit community. In an earlier[Read More…]
Historians will say that an explosion of creativity occurs the moment the world starts complaining that there is nothing left to invent, or that the search for solutions to complex problems has come to an end. This explosion is fate’s way of reminding us that there is always something just over the horizon of knowledge. Social entrepreneurs are now using[Read More…]
One of the most challenging problems of our times is homelessness. While we continue to record improvements in dealing with poverty, homelessness has been plagued with an unimaginative response from policy pundits.The apathetic approach of successive governments is symptomatic of the disease that ails India’s housing system. Housing is often the bedrock of other development interventions: owning land boosts health[Read More…]
When Administration starts to behave like a Cruel Father and begins to dominate your life and lifestyles, it becomes difficult to live in the city. We never know what cruel strategy would then they will use to attack us. The administration of Indore (The largest city in state of Madhya Pradesh) is behaving like a similar Cruel and Arrogant[Read More…]
In the 13 Rules for Radicals by American Activist Saul Alinsky for the Community Organisers, the first rule is “Power is not what you think you have but what the enemy thinks you have.” These rules are for the low income Communities towards gaining social, political, economic and legal power. Also, the radicalism has been described a sone of the[Read More…]
The immediate need of the families affected by this incident is related to water, Food, temporary shelter (Shaded) till they recover their belongings from under the debris and start to make their living. As a secondary need they will require support for the proper rehabilitation within the legal framework. Things to be taken in notice is that although there’s a big population of women in the slum, no women police officers were present at the time of demolition.
Mumbai | 27th June, 2016: A full front page advertisement on the first anniversary of the smart cities that ran on many national daily on Saturday carried announcements worth Rupees thousands of crores. Crores of Rupees that spent on advertisements and the fancy event, which was organized in Pune on Satarday to celebrate the first anniversary of smart cities, was[Read More…]
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My Amma (Malayalam word for Mother) passed away on August 22, 2023 at 3.10 AM. It is always difficult to deal with the passing of a parent, that too one’s mother. I thought the grief would go away. No it didn’t. All those bitter sweet memories won’t go away. At night I lie awake for hours. My friend, guide and[Read More…]
