Ground report: In Bareilly, the exercise of making a smart city by demolishing the village with bulldozers!
Mar 22, 2023 at 6:31 pm
465 houses in four villages have been demolished with bulldozers. Bulldozer can also run on hundreds of houses. Most of the houses that were demolished included Dalits and people from the Muslim community. The population of about 21000 people is expected to be affected in the action.
The Mooknayak team reached Bareilly district, about 250 km from Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, to find out the current conditions of the bulldozer action that has been carried out on hundreds of houses in four villages here. Making serious allegations against the local administration, the villagers here said that the Bareilly Development Authority has destroyed our village in the name of Smart City and is currently destroying it. Due to this the population of about 21000 people is getting affected. Whereas, Jogendra Singh, Vice President of Bareilly Development Authority says that the proceedings will continue.
Smart City is being constructed by the Bareilly Development Authority, about 4 km away from Bareilly city, due to which the people of 4 villages — Chandpur, Vichpuri, Dhohariya and Ramganga — are highly affected at present. In Bichpuri village, due to demolition of people’s houses, many people lost their lives due to attack. About 465 houses in these villages have been demolished. Most of the houses that were demolished in the villages belonged to the Dalit and Muslim communities.
The Mooknayak team spoke to the villagers of Chandpur, Bichpuri, Dhoharian, Ramganga Nagar in Bareilly and tried to know their current conditions. The population of Dalit and Muslim community is more in village Chandpur. There are about 600 houses in Chandpur, in which 80 houses have been demolished and about 60 more houses may be demolished.
A total of 12 houses have been demolished in village Dhoharian so far. The people of this village fear that around 200 more houses may be demolished. At present there are about 500 houses in the village. There are about 300 houses in village Manpur alias Ramganga, in which 8 houses have been demolished. According to the villagers, about 12 more houses will be demolished. About 365 houses have been demolished in village Bichpuri, and 250 more houses may be demolished. A population of about 21000 people resides in all these villages.
Famous poet Imran Pratapgarhi writes on this bulldozer action:
On one side there are bulldozers, the oppressors of proud politics, and on the other side, there are thatched roofs in fear of the poor.
How will you break the courage to call the oppressor an oppressor, break the roof but how will you break my courage?
Ali Mohammad, a resident of village Chandpur Bichpuri, told The Mooknayak , “There are 10 members in our family. Our house was built about seven years ago under a government scheme. Now the BDA has demolished it. Now we live on rent. It is difficult to live in a rented room. That’s why some of us live in this hut. When I asked the reason for demolishing the house, I was told that nothing would happen. Didn’t listen. My house was already built. I live here since my birth. I am 48 years old. BDA gave me notice on 2nd July 2022. After which my house was demolished in the month of February. .”
Bilaso Devi (70), a resident of Chandpur Bichpuri village, says, “My family is not from this village. In 2012, I bought land here and built a house. Now I have heard that my house will be demolished. However, I have not received any notice from BDA. I am 70 years old, my son is demolishing his own house. How did you build your house? Today we ourselves are demolishing our house, only because when the BDA people come, they will demolish it and the debris will also go waste. If you take out some bricks by breaking them yourself, they will be sold. No notice has been given to anyone from BDA. I am ill at this time.
Nanhe Shah, a resident of village Chandpur Bichpuri, says that for the last 6 months, the number of house demolition has been put up by the BDA. [House being demolished in sequence]. “We sought mercy from the chief minister, prime minister and district magistrate, but no one listened. I had built a house here in 2002 by purchasing a land. Where will I be if my house collapses? Suddenly the BDA people come and start demolishing the houses. No notice is given to anyone. We also staged a dharna near the District Magistrate’s office. BJP leader Sonam Chishti from Lucknow had also come to participate in our dharna. But there was no hearing even in the dharna and after sending the police, we were beaten up and chased away and Section 144 was imposed. Prime Minister Modi says that we are giving houses to the poor. But here our houses have been demolished,” said Shah.
‘VC said you people are insects…go anywhere’
Anita, a resident of Bichpuri village, says that about 365 houses have been demolished in our village and the rest are yet to be demolished. We bought our land around the year 2010. After which his house was built. “Now my house is broken. We told the VC that you are taking my house, give some place to the villagers in which we will live by putting up a hut. But the VC said, ‘You people are insects, we will get them vacated.’ Saying this, our houses were broken. In our village, 12 people have also died due to house collapse. There is a boy Amit, only two months had passed since his marriage. His house was broken into, due to which he had an attack and died. Now his mother and a young widowed daughter-in-law are left in the house. Now these people [administration] snatching our land from us and selling it to us at high prices. They are saying that if you want to buy then buy, otherwise you will be thrown away from here, wherever you go, it does not matter to us, ”says Anita heartily.
However, some people of the village have moved the High Court on this bulldozer action. The victims hope from the court that soon the order of BDA will be stayed. Former Pradhan Inderpal Singh, a resident of Dhohariya, said, “Our house was built here from the past. In the Tehsil report, Lekhpal has told that my house is already built. But now it is broken. We have gone to the High Court against this dictatorial attitude of the officers.”
There will be no poor, there will be no poverty
Satish Pathak, a resident of village Bichpuri, says that we have made many trips till Lucknow to save our houses. There we met Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak. All of us came after giving them the copy of the registries and they said that we will see, after that our house was demolished by BDA. “Where should we go now when the houses were demolished, at that time it was the 13th of November. We started living temporarily in the flat constructed by BDA. Now we are being made to vacate those flats as well. Water supply has been interrupted in the flats. I am liking this way of the government to eradicate poverty,” Satish said. “When there will be no poor then poverty will also disappear. At least the government should give us a place to stay. We will live by making huts. About 10 to 15 people have died in the village. I got my house built around the year 2010, then nothing was opposed by the BDA. Nor had any board etc. been installed so that I could come to know that this land belongs to BDA.
CM’s orders flouted
Senior advocate RD Kashyap, who lives in Bareilly, says, “As per the rules, you have to give three notices before demolishing a house. But no notice was given to the people of these villages. This is a clear violation of the law.” Just now CM Yogi had said that the house of any poor will not be demolished, even if it is broken, first there will be arrangements for his stay, after which it will be demolished. Now it seems that even the officials are not accepting this point.Bichpuri, Chandpur , The authorities should listen to the people of Ramnagar Gautiya, Dhohariya.
“If the villagers are building their houses on BDA land then it is wrong. The manner in which BDA is demolishing the houses is also wrong. But on the basis of human sensitivity, the BDA should make alternative arrangements for the villagers to stay, for which I will talk to the BDA officials,” Raghvendra Sharma, MLA from the Bithri Chainpur Legislative Assembly, told The Mooknayak .
Samajwadi Party’s national spokesperson Abdul Hafeez Gandhi says, according to the 2013 rule, the BDA should issue three notices one after the other and make alternative arrangements for the villagers to stay, after which the houses can be demolished. Government and officials should work within the ambit of law. Law is one for all. Samajwadi Party has been continuously against the bulldozer system. But it is not at all right to show the fear of bulldozers to a poor person and use bulldozers.
Circle President of Bhim Army Vikash Babu The MooknayakHe tells us that “we are constantly conducting investigations among the villagers. The land which was acquired by BDA in 2003-04. After that many people have bought land and built houses. Houses are constantly being demolished by the authorities in a dictatorial manner. That is totally wrong. When the BDA had acquired the place, former Union Minister Santosh Gangwar and Arun Kumar, a minister in the state government, also have a place here. But their things have not been broken. The place of politicians and influential people has been abandoned and the place of poor and farmers is being occupied by BDA by breaking it. BDA has also acquired land in 2013-16 and 21. Then why didn’t you acquire these houses? Bhim Army is going to start protest demonstration for poor and farmers soon. This protest will not only be held in Bareilly but in all those places where this problem is being faced. Bhim Army is constantly standing with the poor Majlum farmers.
Recently, instructions were given to remove slums and houses from railway land in Haldwani, Uttarakhand. After which the whole matter came to the notice of the Supreme Court and the court stayed the order to remove the encroachment and while commenting strongly on the government, said that these people are also citizens of India, before removing them, the government should ensure their living arrangements. .
When The Mooknayak team spoke to Bareilly District Magistrate Shivakant Divedi, he refused to talk on camera, saying that only the Bareilly Development Authority can give you better information about this.
Refusing to talk on camera, Vice President of Bareilly Development Authority Jogendra Singh said, “We have been working to acquire the houses that are being demolished since 2004. This is our land. We have complete documents for this. We have allowed them to stay on our land for so many days, this is our greatness. The land belongs to BDA. We are taking our land. I don’t care where these people go. Nor is there anything to give to these people. We have demolished about 1500 houses and now 32 more houses will be demolished. We have also given compensation to some people who were the owners of the land. These people had encroached on our land. Which we have removed. BDA will get police force after two days. Further demolition proceedings will continue. The VC said, “Earlier the registry used to be done like this. There was a registry at some other place. The occupation was of some other place. These people should have taken the land after investigation. Some people have come in this even after losing the case from the court.
