Bengaluru: BJP MLA Arvind Limbavalli tweeted a video on January 12 claiming that the settlements in North Bengaluru’s Kariyammana Agrahara area belonged to illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.
Days after he tweeted, the houses were mercilessly razed to the ground on Sunday which rendered thousands homeless. The electricity and water supply to the location was cut off three days ago. After the demolition of the shanties, the residents, mostly migrants from Assam, Tripura, some even from North Karnataka, were allegedly asked to vacate the land.
However, the “illegal Bangladeshi immigrants” had shown their valid identity cards, which revealed most are from Northeast India and North Karnataka.
“The sheds were demolished around 12 noon on Saturday. People in civilian clothes asked us to clear the space. There was also a cop with them. We are not Bangladeshis. We have proof that we are Indians. We have come here to work and earn a living,” said Ahadur Rahman, a migrant from Assam.
“We don’t know what happened. I work as a mason here. We can’t find a place to live. We have been asked to move from here,” said Karanna, a native of Koppal in North Karnataka’s Gadag district. He is in Bangalore with his wife and three children aged 10, 7 and 5.
All the residents have valid identity cards, including Aadhaar, pan and voter ID. Besides, those from Assam have also shown their names in the NRC.
“We earn around 12000-15000 rupees doing housekeeping work or as security staff. We have to send some money home too. How can we move to an apartment or a better house where rent is around 20,000 rupees,” asked Kalaram Tripura, another resident.
BBMP states ‘immigrants’ settled in slum areas
Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), in a letter, stated that the sheds were built illegally by illegal Bangladeshi immigrants who converted the area to a slum, which led to the deterioration of conditions in the neighbourhood, following which the municipality received several complaints.
Earlier, on Januray 11, the Bengaluru police issued a notice to the owner of survey no. 35/2 that said that the sheds were built on the land without proper approval. The cops claimed that the sheds housed illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and the notice asked the owner to clear the encroachments and furnish details of the residents.
“We earn around 12000-15000 rupees doing housekeeping work or as security staff. We have to send some money home too. How can we move to an apartment or a better house where rent is around 20,000 rupees,” asked Kalaram Tripura, another resident.