Gujarat’s Bangladeshi hunt leaves 6,000 Indians homeless for a year

A week after the Gujarat Police and the Ahmedabad civic body mercilessly razed 3,000 houses and 500-odd shops around Chandola Lake — belonging to either Indian Muslims or Devipujaks (a de-notified tribe) — in their hunt for what was illegal Bangladeshi immigrants then and has now turned into “Al Qaeda operatives”, the civic body has announced plans to resettle the thousands of people found to be innocent.

But here’s the catch: the new houses will take a year, at least, to be completed. And, not everyone may be eligible for those either. Even those who are eligible will have to shell out Rs 3 lakh to get those houses even though the administration tore down their homes for absolutely no fault of theirs.

And hence, Gujarat suddenly has 6,000 homeless people who have been reduced to street-dwellers despite paying their taxes and bills for years.

The government wants us to show documents to prove our citizenship and sell us a house that isn’t ready yet. Where are we supposed to live until then? My family is living on the road in this extreme heat. We are scared that we may be thrown out from here too. We have no money for food, so how will we afford a house? — Khalid Mohammed, slum resident

450 Bangladeshi illegals, 6,000 innocent

Of the more than 6,500 people arrested from Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Vapi and Kutch over the past week, Gujarat Police identified only 450 as Bangladeshi immigrants and released the others.

Crime Branch DCP Ajit Rajian said, “We have confirmed 450 persons as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and sent them to the Joint Interrogation Centre (JIC) while deportation proceedings are underway.”

After the Crime Branch report, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) claimed that illegal activities were being carried out at Chandola Lake slum by illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. The AMC provided manpower and machinery to demolish around 4,000 shops and homes, clearing 1.5 lakh square metres of land in two days.

AMC’s alternative housing plan

Now, the civic body has plans to relocate the innocent people, but not everyone will be eligible for the new homes. Devang Dani, AMC’s Standing Committee chairman told The Federal, “It was decided by the Standing Committee that alternative housing will be provided to those residents of the Chandola Lake slum who have been living there since December 1, 2010, at least.”

Further, Dani added, “Those who have proof of living there since or before 2010 can go to our office to fill in the form and submit two proofs of residence. The application will be reviewed and those eligible will be considered for 70-sq-m Economically Weaker Section (EWS) housing, under the joint venture between Gujarat state’s Affordable Housing Policy and the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY)."

He also said that these houses cost Rs 3 lakh each and, among the eligible contenders, only those who can pay will be allotted the houses.

However, the EWS houses aren’t ready to take in the residents who are currently homeless and living on the road since the eviction in Ahmedabad. According to AMC officials, approximately 10,000 EWS houses (1 bedroom-kitchenette flat) are currently under construction and they will take at least a year to be completed before the resettling process of the evictees can begin.

‘Al Qaeda operatives in slums’, says Gujarat home minister

On being asked why the demolition was carried out indiscriminately without verifying the citizenship of the evictees, Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi told The Federal, “This was not an ordinary drive. It was based on inputs of the presence of Al Qaeda operatives in these slums and so we couldn’t have waited that long.”

Those evicted from the area between April 26 and April 29, however, feel the AMC’s announcement is a cruel joke.

“On April 27, they demolished my home with just three hours of notice. I had to vacate my home of three generations and pack all I could in three bags. My family and I moved to my scrap shop in another part of Chandola Lake slum, as the JCB razed down homes, lane after lane. The next day, they razed my shop. Now I have no home and no source of livelihood,” lamented Amtabhai Devipujak, who used to be scrap dealer.

Also read: Muslim residents pay the price as Gujarat hunts for Bangladeshi illegals

“How does the government expect people like me to buy a flat for Rs 3 lakhs. Even if I take a loan, how am I going to repay it since I don’t have a source of livelihood anymore,” said an angry Amtabhai to The Federal.

Four-hour notice, shop razed within two

The Chandola Lake area has been home to Muslims, Devipujaks, and migrant workers from all over the country. The Devipujak community in the area typically earn their livelihood as scrap dealers while the migrant workers and Muslims are mostly daily wage earners.

Mamtaben, another resident, who belongs to the Devipujak community, recounted her tale of woe. “We packed our stuff and moved to our shop when they razed our home. But the next day they came for our shops as well. They gave us a four-hour notice to vacate our shops but ended up razing them within two hours. And, most of our luggage and documents were still inside the shops,” said Mamtaben.

Khalid Mohammed, another slum resident, shared that he had to run out of his home, carrying his 90-year-old mother in his arms, as the bulldozer tore down the house his family had been living in for over 40 years.

Khalid recalled that he did not get time to take any documents with him.

Also read: Gujarat: Crackdown on illegal Bangladeshi immigrants; over 1,000 face deportation

‘My family living on the road’

“It was 3 am and we were all asleep. With no previous warning, they came with a massive police force and lots of JCBs (bulldozers or backhoe loaders) to tear down the place. We woke up confused, my 10-year-old started crying because of the sudden noise. We grabbed a few clothes and utensils in a bedsheet and ran out of our home,” he recalled.

Further, Khalid added, “Now the government wants us to show documents to prove our citizenship and sell us a house that isn’t ready yet. Where are we supposed to live until then? My family is living on the road in this extreme heat. We are scared that we may be thrown out from here too. We have no money for food, so how will we afford a house?” asked Khalid, who was also detained by the Gujarat Police on suspicion of being an illegal Bangladeshi immigrant.

“My wife was detained the next day and my daughter was placed in some shelter while my 17-year-old son was kept at another police station. For three days, we did not know each other’s whereabouts,” added Khalid, who, like many evictees, went to the demolition spot to salvage whatever remained of his belongings.

Also read: Gujarat: Muslim cattle trader charred to death, family alleges attack by cow vigilantes

Court offers no relief

Advocate Shamshad Pathan, who filed a petition on behalf of the Chandola slum residents, said, “The government brazenly demolished houses, detained and paraded the men without proving their crime. This is against the Constitution. Now, the government is planning to settle them a year from now."

He also pointed out, "These people have been paying electricity and water bills for years and yet their homes were demolished. In this smouldering heat, these people are living on the streets with no food or water. The civic body should immediately provide them with shelters.”

The Gujarat High Court, however, rejected all the 23 petitions, offering no relief to the evictees.