Haldwani: Around 4,500 Muslim families, in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani have been issued a notice by the High court asking to leave the place where they reside calling it encroached land.
The demonstrators said that removing the structures would make them homeless and they have been living here since decades.
The protesters also said that the clearance of the structures would affect a large number of women, children, and elderly persons residing in the area.
One such video of the said protest was shared by Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair, saying that the government’s move would render around 4,500 families, homeless in Haldwani. He also said that the Haldwani residents were organizing peaceful protests in the area wondering where they would move with their families if their homes were destroyed.
The Uttarakhand High Court has ordered the respondent authorities to evict the what it termed “unauthorised occupants” of the railway land adjacent to Haldwani Railway Station, known as Gaffur Basti.
The High Court has ordered the demolition of 4,365 buildings built by the residents on 78 acres of railway land.
Quoting sources, Muslim Mirror reported that 23 crores would be spent on this campaign. Bulldozers will demolish the structures in the midst of 7,000 police officers and 15 paramilitary groups.
Last week, thousands of people including women and children hit the streets in the city to register their protest against the order. According to reports, majority of people living in the area are Muslim. Several political parties have lent their support to the protesters.
MLAs Sumit Hridesh, Abdul Matin Siddiqui, and Shoaib Ahmed also joined the protesters on the dharna.
On Wednesday, the general secretary of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind also reached the demonstration site and extended support to the protesters.
Dr. Nayyar Kazmi, State President of the All India Majlis-e-Etihad ul Muslimeen, Uttarakhand (AIMIM), wrote to the state’s Chief Minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami, over the railway department’s encroachment in Indira Nagar, Banbhulpura, Haldwani, and the decision to demolish the old township.
In a letter to the Chief Minister, he stated that over 4,500 families have lived here for more than seventy-eight decades and have electricity connections, house taxes, Jal Sansthan connections, and other residential credentials, the report said.
“In order to spare thousands of families from being wrecked by this one-sided decision, the government should also bring the side of these aggrieved families before the High Court, so that they can be saved from being homeless,” he said in the letter.
