GBA razes homes, Bengaluru's Kogilu residents out in cold
BENGALURU: A new mother is struggling to keep her a month-old baby warm. Menstruating girls are forced to change sanitary pads in a make-shift tent. A stroke-victim with half of his body paralysed, is lying on a bed facing the sky. These are some of the heart-wrenching scenes one could get to see at the demolished slum at Kogilu, near Yelahanka. On Saturday, Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) had razed over 160 slum homes leaving 300 families homeless. Ansari Khatoon, a new mother who got discharged from the hospital with her 25-day-old baby girl, said that like the officials, the freezing weather was punishing. With her breast-fed child, she along with her husband and brothers, managed to put up a make shift tent a few meters away from their dilapidated house. They came (marshals) pulled us out, and just razed the house built with cement blocks. My husband and brothers are on daily wages. As we build the temporary home, we are forced to live at the mercy of donors. I am more concerned about my baby wrapped in a blanket in the make-shift tent as the cold is unbearable, Ansari told TNIE . Shakina, a widow who earns her living by working as a house-keeper at a private company, complained that there is no place for her menstruating daughter to change her pads. She questioned where she would go with her 12-year-old daughter and expressed severe concerns over the safety of her daughter. A resident looks to salvage valuables from the debris of their homes. Arifullah, who is in his 30s, has been bed-ridden since 2024 after a stroke and has been taken care by his aged mother Hussain Bi. Arifullah is lying on a bed, facing the sky at the Government Urdu School building premise. His mother, in a slurred speech, was seen requesting the visitors to the school to help them with food, water, medicine and blankets. Civil society groups that are helping the dwellers fear health issues among the displaced. The girls have to take care of personal hygiene due to the monthly cycle, women need to change clothes, and all need washrooms, and all these things have been deprived since Saturday, said Kokila, a social activist. The dwellers, along with civic society members, held a protest before the Revenue Ministers house on Sunday, following which the minister held a meeting with some of the residents on Monday. The activists and some members who attended the meeting say that the minister has said that he will hold talks with GBA and the Deputy Commissioner. A source close to the minister said that he will talk to the Housing Minister over the issue and try to accommodate the deserving ones under the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation Limited. R Kaleemullah, National Executive Member, Swaraj India, said many aged persons have been suffering from co-morbidities, and after displacement, their condition will worsen. The Revenue Minister justified the demolition by citing examples of encroachment by influential persons and reclamation of it by the government in the past. However, in this case, the minister said he will have a meeting with the GBA and the revenue department, and said efforts will be made to transfer the land back to the revenue department. He mentioned that homes for the poor will be rebuilt in three months and said that since the files have to move from different departments, there will be some delay. Since the minister has given three months to arrange shelter, the government should give free food and also ensure ambulance services during health emergencies, he said. Shaik Khader Basha, leader representing the Fakir community here, said they are now trying to build temporary dwelling units, and a few good Samaritans are helping them. Syed Shahbaz, a social worker from Hegde Nagar along with 15-member team, has installed over 25 bamboo poles and is working to provide power supply, mainly lights, in the area.
16 C
