Hutments along the Western Railway Line that were razed in demolition drives have cropped up again, a survey conducted by the Government Railway Police has revealed.
Of the 419 hutments that were demolished in the past six months, 165 were reconstructed by slum dwellers. In a letter dated July 3, the Divisional Railway Manager, Western Railway, stated that reconstruction of the hutments had neccesitated the demolition drives to be carried out time and again.
A senior Western Railway official said, “Demolition drives are time-consuming and lead to an increase in the budget of the Railways. Rail roko agitations by the dwellers have to be tackled regularly and they hamper the smooth functioning of trains.” The letter also stated that the number of accidents along the railway lines had increased as the slum dwellers often crossed the tracks and were run over by trains. An official said, “Investigations have found out that accidents were mainly suicides and most of them committed by residents of the slums near the tracks.”
A senior railway police official said the hutments were pose a security threat. “Any person can come and set up a hutment near the tracks and stay. They can easily do the recce of the stations and railway premises. This could prove to be a big trouble for us and difficult to control.” The letter also said, “It has been reliably learnt that certain government officials have aided in the spread of these encroachments by commission and omission. The names if made available will be sent across accordingly.”
Divisional Railway Manager Mukul Jain said efforts were being made to clear encroachments but they were met with a few hurdles. Mr. Jain said, “We come under lot of pressure from local politicians when we conduct demolition drives. We are not able to demolish the huts completely as the dwellers stack their belongings in them. The slum dwellers enjoy the support of the local politician and this comes in the way of our work. After the homes are demolished, many people come back, set up new hutments and resume staying in them.”
Mr. Jain said that according to a High Court order demolition drives cannot be carried out during the monsoon. “We can now take up the demolition drive only after the monsoons.”
