Displaced beneficiaries stage stir near MLA's house

 Udaygiri police on Friday arrested over 20 protesters, including the displaced occupants of Ashraya houses and workers of Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), who were protesting in front of N R MLA Tanveer Sait’s house at Udaygiri in the city.

Members of over 35 families, including children who were recently evicted from Ashraya Houses at Satagalli in Nehru Nagar on the outskirts, had launched an indefinite stir in front of MLA’s hosue P and T quarters in the locality since Friday morning.

The protesters alleged that they were forced out of the houses they had occupied 18 years ago on the oral orders of then Chamundeshwari MLA A S Guruswamy. They were evicted in a recent operation by the Mysore City Corporation (MCC).

Since then, they have been temporarily accommodated at the Community Hall in Ghousianagar.

The protesters further alleged that at the time of Assembly elections, MLA Sait and his supporters had promised to sanction houses. However, the assurance had remained on papers, forcing the displaced families to run from pillar to post for a permanent facility.

When the protest continued beyond dusk, the police intervened and took the protesters into custody. They were later taken into City Armed Reserve (CAR) police grounds, where they were released later.