JOIN USA fact-finding report on the eviction of the residents in the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) quarters, ‘Governance by Denial: Forced Eviction in Koramangala (Ejipura), Bangalore,’ will be released on March 6 in New Delhi.
The report, prepared by the members of the Housing and Land Rights Network (Delhi) and Peoples’ Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) – Karnataka, is based on their investigation of the forced eviction of the residents and its aftermath, carried out between February 21 and 23.
Human rights violated
The team had come to the conclusion that the Government of Karnataka and its agencies had violated the human rights of the residents, who have been now left to fend for themselves without any relief or rehabilitation. From January 18 to 21, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) bulldozed 1,512 houses and evicted over 5,000 slum dwellers living in tin sheds in the EWS Quarters, the report stated.
The four-day demolition drive affected around 1,200 women and 2,000 children, and rendered thousands homeless.
It was the largest forced eviction the City had witnessed in recent years.
The findings of the report will be released in New Delhi by former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, Miloon Kothari.
The event will also be attended by the evicted residents, Issac Arul Selva from PUCL – Karnataka, M R Prabhakar from Forum against EWS Land Grab, Bangalore, among others.