Picture by Javed, taken in Ejipura, full album here. For documentation of slum demolitions in Mumbai, see here.
Bangalore, April 10: Several citizens of Bangalore including residents of EWS quarters gathered at 3 pm near the KPCC office on Queens Road and marched over to hand a memorandum to the Congress Party. The memorandum, attached in English and Kannada, expresses our disgust at the way party MLAs and corporators have blatantly colluded with Garuda mall builders to displace over 1500 families of EWS quarters in Ejipura to make way for a mall in Bangalore.
EWS residents vehemently expressed their anger over the constant harassment by goons of the local Congress MLA, pointing out that they can not sleep at night due to guarding the young girls of the family on the street from the attacks of these goons at night. They insisted that the Karnataka Party should reconsider giving tickets to MLAs like Harris.
The group then went to the BJP party office in Malleswaram near 11th cross, and handed over a memorandum there chiding the BJP government as the presiding state government under which such demolitions and massive loot of public resources for private gain has been taking place.
City dwellers from all over the country are struggling against the classist, casteist and patriarchal state and socioeconomic system that has displaced the poor and struggling masses to give away land to wealthy and exploitative builders, that repeats the historical injustice of displacing and perpetuating atrocities upon dalits and religious minorities, and which destroys homes that pushes women out on the streets where sexual violence is rampant on a daily basis.
As EWS resident Sareena poignantly said, “The rich like Garuda Mall have plenty of money with which to purchase land. We, the poor, have no other land to go but the place where we have lived for so many years. Is it neccessary for them to displace only the poor in order to get cheap land? Can’t they afford to buy land honestly? If we weren’t legitimate residents on this BBMP land reserving for housing poor people, why did the government issue us documents explicitly recognizing our rights of residence there (Guruthina Cheetis)?”
All slum struggles unite!
The residents of EWS quarters, Ejipura, and their supporters express strong solidarity for the intense struggle in Mumbai against slum demolitions and evictions. As they struggled against the demolition of their homes and eviction from the site where many have lived for almost twenty years, they have received messages of solidarity fromGolibar, Mumbai and wish to send a message of solidarity back to Mumbai to say: Our struggles are one.
As the indefinite fast against demolitions enters its eighth day, we stand together with Mumbai residents.
Just as in Mumbra, EWS has seen buildings collapse upon working class residents because of massive diversion of funds resulting in extremely poor-quality buildings. Just as all over the country, we now have words like “public-private partnerships (PPPs)” written on a wall fencing off EWS residents from their homes, handing over public housing land to a private mall.
Our demands:
In Ejipura, Bangalore:
1. Restore the EWS quarters site to the displaced residents and rebuild their homes.
2. Implement full rehabilitation for lost jobs and education.
3. Withdraw all false cases upon residents.
From Mumbai’s Ghar Bachao Andolan:
1. The enquiry in respect of 6 Slum Rehabilitation Authority Projects, under the chairmanship of Principal secretary, Housing, is in progress since 13th January, 2013. We demand that the work in all these projects should be stopped until the report of the enquiry is completed and actions taken on the recommendations.
2. If demolitions are being carried out in accordance with court rulings but the preconditions put forth are not met, main issues and allegations of corruption through forgery, fraudulent consent are not resolved etc., then in such cases project work should be stopped and no further demolitions be carried.
3. In cases where the residents have submitted self development projects or wish to submit the same, they should be sanctioned, encouraged and started immediately.
4. The SRA should ensure that in case of ongoing SRA projects, all conditions in the Letter of Intent (LOI) should be complied with.
5. The Letter of Intent of the developer should be withdrawn wherever the developers have submitted forged / false documents or wrong information in violation of the LOI – as in case of Shivalik builders.
6. The Chief Minister of Maharashtra has agreed to implement ‘Rajeev Awas Yojana’ (RAY) in the slums of Mumbai instead of S.R.A., on 2nd January, 2013. However these very slums are being buldozed even today. So, the displacement of these slums should be stopped till RAY is implemented. The same was conveyed to the State Government by the Union Minister Ajay maken on April 2, 2013.
7. Pilot projects in respect of slum at Mandala, Mankhurd under the RAY have already been submiited to the state as well as Central Governments. That should be approved and implemented at the earliest.
8. Civic amenities (like water, toilets, nallahs, roads ) should be provided to all the slums immediately as per the written assurance given by the Municipal Commissioner.
9. The Chief Secretary had given a written assurance on 25th May, 2011 that 19 bastis as agreed in the list, after 9 day fast by Medha Patkar, will be decalred slums within 3 months. There is no action on this assurance till date. The same should be done. The Chief Minister, and the Principal Secretary, Ministry of Housing had premised again in January, 2013 to complete this action during discussions held with them. They also gave a written assurance to that effect. The displacements that are being carried out at present are, therefore, grossly unjust and hence should be stopped forthwith.
10.Shri Ajay Maken, Minister for Housing and Urban poverty alleviation, Government of India has written a letter to the Chief Minister, Maharashtra state on 2nd April, 2013. The Chief Minister should declare his stand on the letter in writing.
11. The land of Sathe Nagar should be given for RAY. This land is currently under the hold of Bombay Soap company.
Hillele 