“With so many men around, how can I change my clothes? I feel ashamed to even talk about it aloud,” says an agitated N Nagamani, a resident of Hanumantha Huts, the slum settlement located on the banks of Musi River in Moosarambagh. The 35-year-old woman belongs to 45-odd families, who are presently seeking shelter in the crowded community hall, located next to the slum area, with their belongings as the government is yet to provide them with a house. The present accommodation has just one make-shift bathroom and no toilet facility, forcing the residents to relieve themselves in the open.
“For the past seven days, we have been deprived of any kind of privacy. We are living like animals. Each time after I take a bath I tell the men and kids to go out until I change. How many times should I do this? I have girl children, I fear for their safety,” said Nagamani. There are around 100 people including women and children in the shelter.
Last week, on Friday, the residents of Laxmaiah Huts, Chandraiah Huts and Hanumantha Huts–all slum settlements in Moosarambagh–were razed down by the authorities. Most of these families belong to Dalit, Backward and Muslim communities. These slum settlements had nearly 200 families earlier. While the government has provided 205 families (including 45 houses to residents of other colony in Moosarambagh) with houses under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission in Munganoor in Hayathnagar, 45 families are yet to be rehabilitated. Another 45 families who left the settlement could not be identified. With each day passing their hopes are diminishing and they are forced to vent their anger on authorities. Police have been deployed near the shelter to prevent any violence or untoward incident.
Chandramma with her belongings in the government-provided shelter
Activists allege that the demolition of the slums is ‘illegal’ as the revenue authorities did not issue any eviction notice in advance. The district administration however rubbish these allegations.
For nearly 30 years, the slum residents lived there without any basic amenity. Potable water and electricity was the only facility they could enjoy. “We were paying electricity bills, so we never had imagined that we would be evicted in such an inhuman manner,” says Shaheeda, a resident of Laxmaiah Huts, who was assaulted by the police recently. Her relative, 70-year-old P Devender, had died in the government-provided shelter on Tuesday. Instead of keeping the body inside the shelter, the family placed the body near their previous residence, which is now an open ground, for mourning. Police who saw this as a sign of protest forcefully removed the body in a van, and assaulted the family members who tried to resist.
“Men and women alike were hit by the police. They did not even spare the children. We ran helter-skelter,” alleges Shaheeda. A five-month woman also was not spared. She has suffered a broken arm. Malakpet police have justified the action saying that the residents were trying to create unrest with a false claim saying that the deceased had died due to the poor conditions in the shelter, while the 70-year-old had died of natural causes.
Despite the lack of privacy and basic amenities, the residents who are homeless, vow to vacate the shelter only after the government provides them with a house.
Since the eviction most of the families who survive by doing odd jobs, have not gone to work. “Our lives were turned upside down in a matter of a few minutes. We do not have a house; nor a future. All our belongings are out in the open. How can we just move on? asks Chandramma, a slum resident.
Evicted residents confronting the MRO
Activist Syed Bilal from the Human Rights Forum, who has been part of the struggle to ensure housing for slum residents, said: “The residents were identified in the socio-economic survey by the authorities, but yet only 205 residents were provided with pattas. Injustice has been done to the other 45 families. The others too should be given a house. They are entitled to it.”
Some of these residents were provided with housing previously in Munganoor. However, since many had been working in the neighbourhood as house helpers, they had relocated to the slum. “Our children were studying here, and we too work here. How could we just leave everything and go to some other place which is in the midst of a jungle?” a resident recalls.
Speaking to TNM, Mandal Revenue Officer Prasad, who had visited the shelter to address the concerns of the evicted residents on March 11, said: “Many families are not genuine (not actual slum dwellers), so how can we provide everyone a home?”
The MRO has allegedly issued an ultimatum to vacate the shelter by Monday.