HYDERABAD: At 6 am on Monday the slum-dwellers of Ambedkar Nagar woke up to get the shock of their lives when the unwarranted GHMC officers accompanied with police barged into their houses aimed at making way for Telangana Government’s 2BHK scheme.
According to Indian Express report, the displaced residents of around 40 houses were left in a lurch – quite literally to spend the night under the sky and braved the winter chill.
The notice from GHMC came late on Saturday evening, allowing the residents with little time to remove any of their belonging from within their homes.
The people shared details of how, before the demolition began.
A resident named Noor Jahan, 30 said, “Cruelty of the police knew no bounds when they asked us to remove a separate space created for defecating and changing clothes by joining asbestos sheets. Where else could we women have gone on Necklace Road to change clothes or to defecate? Such insensitivity is appalling,” reported Indian Express.
Another resident Yunus said, “Entire Monday night was spent on the roadside. The safety of our womenfolk and children was at stake.”
Seeing the plight of the dwellers, the residents have taken the matter to the High Court which issued an interim order stating “the petitioners should not be dispossessed without following due process of law.”
With no promise of making necessary arrangements to rehabilitate them, the low-income families have been now living on the footpath with little to no protection from the environment.