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‘Prayers heard’: Haldwani residents hail SC order
Over 4,000 families comprising nearly 50,000 people, a majority of them belonging to Muslim community, live on the disputed land
Dehradun/Haldwani: A sense of relief was palpable in the Banbhulpura area of Uttarakhand’s Haldwani district on Thursday after the Supreme Court stayed the eviction of nearly 50,000 people living on 29 acres of land that the Railways claimed was its property.
“The past two weeks have been tough since the high court order for eviction. Our prayers have been finally accepted by Allah,” said Sharafat Khan, one of the petitioners who approached the Supreme Court against the Uttarakhand high court’s order on December 20 last year.
Welcoming the decision, Khan said they now feel confident to prove their ownership over the land in the Supreme Court, which posted the matter for further hearing on February 7.
“The fear of losing the roof over our heads gave us sleepless nights,” said another resident of the area.
Over 4,000 families comprising nearly 50,000 people, a majority of them belonging to Muslim community, live on the disputed land. Hours before the Supreme Court order on Thursday, residents of the area sat on a dharna in front of a mosque, with a large number of women and children, offering prayers collectively.
“In lane number 17 of Banbhulpura, children, women and elderly, all have been praying for a favourable decision by the Supreme Court since early morning. We pinned our hopes on Allah and He gave us relief,” said Abdul Waaris, a local resident.
However, elders from the community said the relief was temporary and that the final decision was yet to come.
“Though the stay order has come as a relief, it’s not a final decision. The necessary documents, which couldn’t be produced in the high court, will be presented before the apex court,” said Mohammad Mukarram, Imam at Barkat-e-Raza Masjid in the locality.
“A panel will be constituted for a better representation in the Supreme Court and it will include people of all religions,” said Mohammad Akran, Imam at Namra Masjid. “We have got support from every community. We will hope that justice is served by the apex court.”
Following the apex court’s order, there was a sense of celebration in the area, with residents distributing sweets while some came up with posters that said: “Thank You, Supreme Court”.
Nazreen, a resident of lane number 18, said, “We had fixed our son’s marriage, much before the high court order, for February 12. The high court order came as a shocker for us. We were stressed about where to bring the ‘dulhan’ (bride) if we are evicted from our home which we built with our lifetime earnings.”
Her neighbour Afroz Begum was worried about her daughter’s marriage scheduled for March 18. “There are serious problems with demarcation by railways, they have done it in a wrong manner,” she said.
Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, “We have said earlier too that it is a railway land. We have always maintained that we will abide by the court’s order.”
Expressing gratitude to the apex court, former chief minister and senior Congress leader Harish Rawat said, “It is a supreme decision which protects the humane face of our state. If our 52,000 people, including children, pregnant women, elderly would have rendered homeless in the chilly weather, it would have left a blot on the face of our state because of the negligent attitude of the state government.”
Surya Kant Dhasmana, vice-president of Uttarakhand Congress also welcomed the court’s decision. “We request both the central and state government to come up with a resolution so that their houses are not demolished. These people don’t come from just one community, but all religions and have been living there for around 100 years and availing all government facilities like water and electricity connections,” he added.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state media in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan said: “Our government will abide by whatever the court orders.”
All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi appreciated the Supreme Court ruling and said “regularisation” is the only solution to the issue. “Supreme Court has taken a humane view on Haldwani and rightly observed that 50,000 people cannot be displaced in 7 days. It has emphasised the need for rehabilitation and recognised that many people bought land in 1947,” he added.
