Heart-rending scenes were witnessed in the Fort area in Amanikere (known as Kolaramma tank) tank bed area on Wednesday morning.
It was not a usual morning for hundreds of people, who had made this area their home for two to three decades. Earth movers were busy bulldozing their houses for encroaching upon the tank bed.
The district administration took up the eviction drive following a High Court order to evict all encroachments on government properties.
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Revenue officials — led by Assistant Commissioner C.N. Manjunath — started demolishing the buildings that were identified after a survey.
Nagarathna, who lost her house in the demolition drive, blamed the district administration. “The Deputy Commissioner had assured us three days time for vacating, when we met him on Tuesday. But, the officials came on Wednesday morning to demolish the houses,” she told The Hindu . “We are still in search of a rented house,” she added.
Eighty-year-old Venkatarathnamma was seen speaking to her dog. She was living in the house her son V.V. Giri, a retired government teacher had built about six years ago, which was also demolished.
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Another woman, Rajamma (60), was seen collecting the remains from the debris that was her house.
A number of people were seen arguing with the authorities and the police took them in to custody.