Eviction from a slum during the lockdown piqued Dinesh Bansal more severely than it did on two previous occasions. Already battling hunger as scrap warehouses remained shut and savings had drained, the homelessness inflicted an agony he is still scrambling to overcome.
At dawn on May 9, municipal officials accompanied by police razed down homes of 61 people, claiming they encroached upon the Rathara lake in Rewa, to begin a beautification project. These families of traditional bamboo artisans were resettled there five years ago by the Municipal Corporation after being displaced from another site. “During the lockdown we had no work, and then came the earth movers that morning. We were not even given a notice in advance to move out belongings,” alleged Mr. Dinesh, 42, who along with others now lives at the parking lot of a set of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) apartments.
The families were even promised regular food and water supply. “For the past one week, we’ve not received supplies. What was the urgency to beautify the lake at the cost of our houses during the lockdown,” asked Umesh Bansal, 34.
“They are not going hungry... social workers have been providing food,” said P.N. Shukla, Assistant Engineer at the corporation. “And we are fulfilling their housing demand through the PMAY.”
He added it was a “policy decision” to resume work. In September last year, a meeting chaired by the Rewa Divisional Commissioner decided to free the land of “encroachers” so the project could be started.
The families said as the lockdown claimed the wedding season from February to June, during which they made ₹ 25,000-₹30,000 each year selling bamboo items and utensils, they were left with no money to deposit ₹20,000 for a house under the scheme. “Then we have to bear monthly instalments,” said Mr. Dinesh, who feeds his family of five as well as his brother’s five children. Before the lockdown, he worked as a ragpicker. These days he has found work at a construction site for ₹300-₹350 a day. RTI activist Shivanand Dwivedi said, “The families were arbitrarily moved. And if they could pay for a house, why would they be staying in huts in the first place? ” The Corporation, however, claims it issued an eviction notice a day before the drive.
