This is the third in a four-part series where TNM surveys the lived realities of the migrant communities in Kerala.

Jaigan Bibi rummaged through the debris of what was once her home, searching frantically among the broken scraps of metal and discarded belongings. "This fridge was working," she said, pointing to the motorless shell lying in the dust. All the materials they used to construct their makeshift shelters were scattered around, leaving no trace of their homes. On August 12, the sound of bulldozers echoed through the small migrant settlement in Kalamassery as municipal officials razed the makeshift homes where Jaigan, her family, and five other migrant families had lived. What remained was not just shattered metal but the broken livelihoods of people who had built their lives from scratch.

Jaigan hurried to a neighbourhood area where she works as a househelp, pointing out at least 10 scrap-collecting tricycles discarded in a compound. "Look at this—the rims and spokes are all broken. They can't be fixed. We brought the raw materials from Bengaluru and assembled them here. It costs Rs 22,000 to get a tricycle like this," she lamented. She then rushed to a nearby shed to show a pile of ceiling fans used by the families, now dumped after being destroyed by the authorities using bulldozers.

When the homes of the five migrant families were demolished, none of the adults were present. They had gone to the Legal Services Authority seeking help to halt the municipality's actions. The terrified children, who remained behind, watched silently as the bulldozers razed everything to the ground.

Jaigan, her husband Sabu Montol, their two daughters, aged 10 and 13, along with five other families—18 people in total, including six children—had been living in temporary tin-sheet sheds on 30 cents of land near Vidyanagar, close to Seaport Airport Road in Kalamassery. The families made a living by collecting non-degradable waste from the neighbourhood, sorting it, and selling it to dealers in Perumbavoor. They rented the land for Rs 30,000 a month. “On top of that, I spent almost Rs 5 lakh constructing sheds, toilets, and buying essentials to live here. All of it was destroyed in a single day,” said Sabu.

Jaigan's daughters, who are enrolled at HMT Educational Society High School, were present during the eviction. Speaking to TNM, they expressed their fear, stating that they are afraid to remain in Kerala.

On August 9, Jaigan and Sabu were informed of a notice from the Kalamassery municipality stating that their residence on the land was illegal.

“During the on-site inspection, it was observed that temporary sheds and unsafe toilets had been constructed using metal sheets to house workers from other states, and plastic waste had accumulated at the site,” the notice read.

According to the notice, the families had violated several regulations, including the Kerala Municipality Building Rules, the Environment Protection Act, the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, and the Kerala Municipality Act. The listed violations included constructing the temporary tin-sheet structures without permission, improper waste management, and causing pollution.

3-day notice issued a day before holidays

The notice, dated August 8, was issued to Muhammed Sayed KA, the landowner to whom these families from Murshidabad, West Bengal, paid rent. However, Sabu explained that they received the notice the next day, a Friday. With the weekend being a second Saturday (a government holiday) followed by Sunday, they were unable to approach the authorities in time to seek a stay against the municipality’s action.

In a complaint addressed to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Jaigan wrote that the notice was deliberately served on a holiday weekend, preventing them from approaching the district collector or the local municipality. “The municipality issued a notice asking us to vacate the land, citing reasons like garbage collection and the spread of infectious diseases. However, the statements in the notice don’t reflect the true condition of the property. They took this action without giving us a chance to present our side or offering any guidance on how to improve our living conditions,” Jaigan stated.

Sayed, the landowner, said they were preparing to respond to the municipality on Monday when he learnt about the demolitions.

Displaced and struggling to pay rents

Now, the families are left with only one or two tricycles, and their business has significantly declined. They are able to get by only because the women take up domestic work, and they are struggling to pay the rent for their current accommodation.

Narayan, who was displaced along with Sabu, is now living in a small tin-sheet room with his two sons, aged 7 and 13. “That night, we didn’t know where to go with the women and children. For two days, we stayed at the home of our former landlord. Two families returned to West Bengal, and one went to Cherayi, about 30 kilometres away. Everyone was terrified and panicked—nothing like this had ever happened to us before. Eventually, we found this tiny rented house,” he explained.

Sabu and Jaigan arrived in Kerala six years ago and have been working as scrap collectors since then. “Over the years, we would rent land, bring a few families to share in the business, and all of us would collect and sort scrap together. I also work as a domestic helper in three houses, which provided us with some extra income. After everything happened, we survived only on my earnings,” Jaigan said.

‘No different from UP’

According to the displaced families, this wasn't a sudden move by the municipality. They believe it was orchestrated by local politicians. “A month after we moved in, three local Congress leaders began harassing us, demanding that we leave,” Sabu said.

In her complaint to the Chief Minister, Jaigan also accused local leaders of violence: “A group led by Ameer, the Youth Congress president in the Kalamassery constituency, and Manaf, a local Congress leader, forcibly entered our residence. They destroyed our shed and the bicycle we used to collect scrap for our livelihood, and they assaulted us. They told us we couldn’t live in an area where people from higher social classes reside. They accused us of being criminals, scavengers, and even labelled the women as sex workers.”

Even after some locals destroyed their belongings in July, the migrant families refused to move. It was then that the locals, along with the politicians, took action through the municipality. George Mathew, Chairman of the Progressive Workers Organisation, an NGO for the welfare of migrant workers, said, "Children are still not free from fear. What is the difference between the BJP government, which bulldozes the homes of the poor in UP, Delhi, and Haryana, and the Congress-run Kalamassery municipality and its local Congress leaders?"

George claimed that discrimination and the desire to marginalise the scrap collectors drove the neighbours to push them out of sight. "The Congress is promoting images and videos of Rahul Gandhi mending shoes on the street and working alongside construction workers through social and national media. Yet, in this very context, Congress leaders in Kalamassery, along with the Congress-run municipality, have carried out violence, demolished sheds, and used xenophobic slurs against workers from West Bengal who rented land, lived with their families, and collected scrap for a living," he alleged.

However, Kalamassery Municipality Secretary Anil Kumar defended the action, stating that nobody was living in the sheds. This was contrary to the municipality’s notice, which said workers were living in the sheds. "There were no proper septic tanks, and the sheds were constructed directly under electricity lines, which posed a safety hazard. Considering this, we had to take immediate action. The families weren’t living there; only scraps were found on the premises," he insisted.

He also claimed there was no electricity connection. "Why would anyone live there without electricity?" he questioned. But both the families and the landowner confirmed to TNM that there was an active electricity connection. 

TNM has sought a response from P Rajeev, the Kalamassery MLA and Industries Minister, on this issue. The story will be updated if he responds.

Not an isolated case of discrimination

A nearby resident told TNM that the situation represents a severe human rights violation. “Two years ago, a similar group of scrap workers lived on this land. At that time, local residents complained that the children were often untidy and accused the migrants of theft, even though there was no evidence to support these claims. This area is home to some 'elite' families, and they object to having scrap workers nearby. A humane approach was never extended to these migrants. After the municipality demolished the sheds, the children's books and belongings were scattered everywhere. It was heart wrenching to see the children collecting their things in tears,” he said.

But another resident did not share those views. “Their children would wander around, visit other houses, and take away metal items. These families accommodate many people, and the women are of questionable character,” he alleged.

Many neighbourhoods TNM contacted expressed reluctance to have migrant families living nearby. Abeed*, who is from North 24 Parganas, had to move from Ernakulam to Wayanad a year ago due to fears about scrap collectors. “Rumours spread that illegal Bangladeshi migrants were hiding in scrap-collecting units. Locals raided one such group, and some people were arrested. We were frightened, and the local residents became indifferent. I moved to Mananthavady but couldn’t find any business there, so I returned after a few months,” he said.

Abeed now lives with his parents, wife, children, and sister in Cherai, far from Ernakulam. “We’ve rented land in a remote area to avoid major issues,” he said.

George Mathew criticised the forced displacement due to discrimination, stating, “They are treated as criminals and subjected to extreme humiliation.” He added, “It is to be noted that even the Supreme Court has heavily come down on “bulldozer justice.”