The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday night withdrew its decision to start a detention centre for foreigners illegally staying in India at the Ambedkar SC/ST hostel in Ghaziabad.
Said to be the State’s first such facility, it was carved out of the hostel’s women’s wing. The centre, located on the Delhi-Meerut Highway in the Nandgram area of Ghaziabad, was expected to house 100-120 persons.
The decision came after Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati described the move as “anti-Dalit”. In a tweet, she said this was another proof of the government’s anti-Dalit style of functioning. Ms Mayawati further said the move to turn the hostel, built during BSP rule, into a detention centre was “extremely sad and condemnable”.
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Ghaziabad District Magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey confirmed to local media that the government had taken back its decision and said if an alternative proposal was sought by the government, the district administration would suggest another option.
However, on Friday, he didn’t respond to The Hindu’s messages. Official sources said the administration was waiting for the orders to come. Officials in the Lucknow secretariat also refused to comment on the issue.
Rajesh Pandey, who took over as the district social welfare officer on Friday, after his predecessor met with an accident, said he came to know about the withdrawal from media reports. “I am yet to receive any official communication in this regard,” he said.
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