‘Bulldozer raj’ in Bengaluru: 400 houses razed; Muslim fakirs homeless
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Bengaluru: In Kogilu village near Yelahanka in Bengaluru, the Greater Bengaluru Authority unleashed a demolition drive on Fakir Colony and Waseem Layout on Saturday early morning, razing down 400 houses, including those belonging to the Muslim community, rendering around 3,000 people homeless, according to a report by Maktoob Media.
Most of those lost homes belonged to Muslim fakirs who begged or their children performing on the streets for a living.
According to the city administration, which came with heavy police protection to carry out a demolition drive, residents encroached upon the land that they cleared. However, the resident told Maktoob Media that they had been living there for decades and possessed valid documents. They added that they were served no notice before the demolition drive began.
They further said that they had been harassed for the past three years, and a day before the demolition drive, authorities cut off electricity and internet in the area. They also say that the officials who monitored the act did not even allow them to collect valuable items from their houses.
“Our carts were crushed by bulldozers,” one of the residents lamented.
Some of them told Maktoob Media that they were evicted from their homes despite having valuable documents such as Aadhaar cards, ID cards, PAN cards, and ration cards, and being voters who voted in elections.
One of them lamented about their lost home and said that there is no one to support them. The person pointed out that they were given no compensation and demanded justice.