NEW DELHI: More than 50,000 Muslims in the Haldwani, Indian state of Uttarakhand, are faced with imminent danger of becoming homeless following an anti-encroachment drive that is set to demolish their houses built as long as 50 years back.
Residents of Banbhoolpura area in Haldwani sat in protest in Haldwani to register their protest against a December 20 order by the Uttarakhand High Court, which stated that the land they are living is a Railway property. The court directed the Railway and the local authorities to remove encroachments after giving a week’s notice to the “occupants”.
Following the High Court verdict, Some of the residents have approached the Supreme Court for relief, alleging that their case was not put forward aptly, and the apex court has decided to hear the matter on January 5. There have been several Supreme Court orders in the past which have called for protecting the right to life and livelihood of those being displaced.
The petitioners have claimed that they had been living on the land near the railway lines for between 40 and 50 years, and a demolition drive in the area would leave over 50,000 people homeless. The affected area houses a total of 4,365 identified structures including over 4,000 residential units, 20 mosques and nine temples.
One of the residents, Sharafat Khan, who approached the Supreme Court, was quoted by local media as saying that people have been living in Banphoolpura for “several decades”. Stating that most of them possessed electricity and water connections, had been paying house taxes and possessed registration documents for their properties, he asked: “How could the public buildings, including schools, and hospitals, be built there if we are living there illegally?”
