After taking away their roof, Mumbai cops burn their belongings

We do not have any morsel of food left nor my children have any spare clothes to wear They the police came and burnt them all saying we cannot stay here My wife is six months pregnant and my two daughters are unwell Where will we go asks Balu Machindra Chauhan 30 a day after they were forcibly evicted from Amar Mahal junction Chembur by the police While the state agencies are clear they wont allow encroachments the incident has once again raised serious concerns about shelter homes for the homeless in the cityIf this is not our home then where is our home asks Ashwini Pawar 25 I have been staying here for the last two decades and have also got a ration card which shows our address below Amar Mahal footpath We also get monthly ration from the fair price shop Chauhan adds My daughter Anjali 5 is physically challenged She and Chakula 2 were both scared when the police threw our belongings out The police kept shouting Chale jao yahaan se dobara nahi aana Yahaan godown banega as we sat on the roadside helplesslyThe belongings of the homeless people were set on fireMost men on the footpath clean gutters and sewage lines earning 300 daily Activists fighting for the rights of homeless have condemned the police action as their plea to keep the drive on hold until August 3 when the matter comes up for hearing before the State Human Rights Commission SHRC fell on deaf earsMahesh Kamble a statelevel committee member in charge of monitoring the functioning of shelters says The SHRC had issued show cause notice to the police post a similar eviction on April 8 2019 at 8 am when Tilak Nagar police carried out a similar drive in which Jaya Kale lost her twomonthold son Jaya had placed Anil on her lap when the police barged in Scared she tried to escape and accidentally dropped her child She did not get any help from the police in taking him to the hospital who was declared dead on arrival at Rajawadi HospitalAshwini Pawar with her ration card which states her address as below Amar Mahal footpathWhile quoting the National Report on the Status of Shelters for Urban Homeless August 2014 Kamble adds Living in the open with no privacy or protection is a gross denial of the fundamental right of a citizen to live their life with dignity the apex court has opined It is to defend and uphold their right to food and shelter that sufficient numbers of permanent shelters are required in all cities in all seasons Under the SC guidelines all state and local governments are now legally bound to build dignified permanent shelters Unfortunately there is no clear data to ascertain the exact number of homeless in the state or country The Supreme Court however has given a formulaFor every population of one lakh there must be one shelter for the homeless So if Mumbais population is 15cr there should be minimum 150 shelters and each shelter must have the capacity to accommodate 100 people Unfortunately the BMC has failed to set up even a single shelter for the homeless in the cityCharred utensils Pics courtesyPallavi Thakare NGO Koshish TISSMohammed Tarique director of the NGO Koshish and member of the same committee says Most of these people have come from Osmanabad Latur Satara etc The question is why Collapsing livelihood opportunities and rising prices for agriculture are making it impossible for smaller farmers and landless labourers to survive All authorities I spoke to about this incident washed their hands off saying what is happening to people is not their concern and that they are just following orders Can we get a more insensitive and brutal state where a senior officer says that cleanliness and bridge maintenance are more important than the lives of innocent childrenAlso ReadSave Esplanade mansion IITBombays report to be challenged in HC todaySpeaking to midday SS Gangurde executive engineer Roads MMRDA said We MMRDA have taken charge of the entire Eastern Express Highway and Western Express Highway from Public Works Department PWD since April 2019 The Amar Mahal bridge and the roads under it are now under MMRDA and we are very clear that we wont allow any encroachmentsWhen asked if he was aware of the goingson on Friday Gangurde said I have been told that encroachment had been a regular scene beneath the said flyover We are also more concerned about the safety of the flyover which was recently repaired by PWD who have used nuts and bolts in large quantities for giving steel support We have found that rainwater outlet screens have gone missing and similarly the nuts and bolts may also get stolen for their scrap valueAlso ReadMumbai Mantralaya water makes employees sick officials deny contaminationWhen asked about the fire he said I am not aware of any belongings being set on fire We are clear that we do not want our space to be encroached We have submitted a proposal to our superiors for constructing a wall on either side which will not only restrict encroachers but also allow us to use the space as godown to store paver blocks bitumen crushed stones etc These will be required for filling potholes during the monsoon The construction work will start from JulyAlso ReadWadala high rise fire Heavilypregnant woman among injured rushed to KEM hospitalTilak Nagar police have rubbished the allegation They state that the eviction drive was carried out by PWD who had sought police protection A police officer on condition of anonymity said The PWD staff was clearing all unwanted material from beneath the flyover and they set it on fire The police had no role Even last time they encroachers had made allegations against the police We provide bandobast when asked for thats all150No of shelter homes Mumbai needs for the homeless0Shelter homes Mumbai has for the homelessCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates