More than a hundred residents of central Delhi’s Kathputli Colony gathered in a demonstration on Sunday afternoon at Jantar Mantar Road.
They were demanding a fast completion of the concrete houses promised to them by Delhi Development Authority (DDA) as per an agreement. The protest took the form of speeches and cultural performances including puppet shows, an art form the residents have been traditionally known for.
Move to camp
“As per our agreement with DDA and Raheja Builders, every household in our colony till 2015 were supposed to get newly-built houses. Meanwhile, we would have to shift to a temporary camp for a period of two years and then move back to the new homes,” said Puran Bhat, an organizer of Sunday’s protest.
“The problem is that out of a total of 3,200-3,300 people in our colony, only 1,700-1,800 have moved to the camp. Some NGOs have been preventing the rest from moving out, causing a delay in the process. We are here to appeal to the government for action against such people. Also, we want the new construction to start at the earliest”, Mr. Bhat added.
Hamadi Khatun, a Kathputli Colony resident, said: “I have been living with my family at the Anand Parbat transit camp for three years now. We were told we would have to stay only for two years before we got our new homes. But as of now, no progress is in sight. Whether we get a new house or not, we want a solution so that we can go back.”
Break DDA silence
Santosh Bhat, another protester present on Sunday, said the DDA should break its silence on the matter at the earliest to eliminate misunderstanding. “There is a lot of confusion and misunderstanding going on around this project. A section of our people has questions to ask and hence they have not moved to the camp. So, in separate meetings, we have urged the DDA officials and the Lieutenant Governor to clarify the status of the agreement. They should make things clear to the residents.”
