Hundreds of families in Garib Nagar, Bandra East, spent Tuesday surrounded by broken furniture, utensils and torn tin sheets as a massive demolition drive by Western Railway began beside Bandra station. Acting on Bombay High Court orders, authorities started razing what they termed “unauthorised encroachments” on railway land, even as several residents claimed they had lived there for decades and were either excluded from or unaware of rehabilitation surveys. By evening, large stretches near station road had been flattened, leaving families sitting in the open with bags, mattresses, and pets, days before Eid and weeks ahead of the monsoon.

Household items kept in the open after structures were cleared during the anti-encroachment drive near Bandra station