Demolition drive amid rain leaves 200 families homeless in Malvani

Over 200 families in Malvani's Ambujwadi were left homeless after bulldozers demolished their unauthorised huts during heavy rain. Activists criticized the timing and called it an inhuman act. The deputy collector defended the move, stating that they were instructed to remove illegal encroachments by the guardian minister. Residents were seen trying to recover their belongings from under the debris.

When the city was grappling with the torrential rain on Wednesday, bulldozers rolled into Malvani’s Ambujwadi to demolish unauthorised huts that housed mostly migrant workers. In the next few hours, more than 200 families were left without roofs over their heads.

Mumbai, India - July 20, 2023 : More than 200 Families homeless amidst heavy rains in Deputy collector's anti-encroachmentÊdrive at Ambuj Wadi, Malad West, in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, July 20, 2023. (Photo by Vijay Bate/HT Photo)

Though the official version was that the deputy collector (encroachment) carried out the drive after following due procedure, residents and activists called this an inhuman act and questioned its timing.

“What was the urgency to raze homes amidst heavy rain? People were forced to spend the night in the open,” Shubham Kothari from Jan Haq Sangharsh Samiti (JHSS) said.

Kothari alleged that the collector’s anti-encroachment department posted a pre-dated notice (of July 2) for eviction on July 16. “They first pulled down a few houses on July 1 and then on July 6 without any intimation. We visited the collector’s office and requested officials to follow the procedure and not conduct any drive during the monsoon. However, after several follow-ups, they pasted one notice and then swung into action.”

She further said there was a 2001 notification which clearly said that any encroachment under the garb of monsoon should be immediately removed. “These were all huts made of bamboos and tarpoline. We verified all documents before taking up the demolition.”

A senior official from BMC said, “We had raised the issue in the meeting with the guardian minister and said that since the collectorate had an anti-encroachment department, such drives should be conducted by them. BMC only provided the manpower and the machinery on the request of the deputy collector.”

When HT visited the spot, residents were seen trying to recover their belongings from under the debris. It also found that residents had set up temporary sheds made of bamboo and tarpoline to protect themselves from the rain.

Women from the area claimed that they were not even allowed to take clothes out of their houses. “They came so quickly that we did not even realise that there was a demolition happening here. We lost our livestock as well. Where will we go now?” asked Bano Khan who worked as a house help.

Asha Khairnar, a resident of Jalgaon, said, “Never in our life did we imagine that our houses would be pulled down in the monsoon. We do not have enough money to rent a house in Mumbai; hence we had built up these huts.”

Voices

Asha Khairnar

“I live with my husband and son here and work as a house help in nearby buildings. I have lost everything, and we do not have money to rent a house elsewhere. Despite heavy rain, they continued demolition till 7pm.”

Arvind Kumar

“I have been working as a carpenter for the last 11-12 years. Currently, we have nowhere to go. We are trying to recover our household articles from under the debris.”

Rahat Khan

“This was so inhuman; we were not even given time to collect our clothes. They came with so many bulldozers and carried out the demolition. We will have to see what can be done now.”

Ummatul Mohammed

“Residents were panicked. People were removed from their homes and given no time to gather their things. Our livestock could not even be taken out.”