Pay, shit and watch

We, the residents of Fakrulmulk Devdi (FM Devdi), a notified slum at Mandi Mir Alam, wish to bring to your notice a serious issue of concern in our basti.

Our basti consists of about 30 families, most of them belonging to scheduled castes. A few of us belong to Muslim community. However, all of us are working class people, with very low incomes and high vulnerability.

We used to have public toilets (16 latrines and two bathrooms) on a piece of government land in our basti. They were built in 1960. A few months back, a well-to-do family headed by one Osman Mia (proprietor of Sagar Hotel at Patthergatti) in our neighbourhood, demolished these public toilets and occupied this piece of land adjacent to their own house. He has even laid the foundation and erected pillars to construct a building on this site. But he is claiming that it is MCH which is constructing a gym there. The fencing for the land was made by MCH. However we feel that MCH officials may be working hand in glove with the land grabber. When we tried to resist this attempt, he has been threatening us with dire consequences. We also complained to MCH, but no action was taken. We are now using pay-toilets in Mir Alam mandi.

One local leader by name Baba alias Muneer came to our support and filed a petition in court against the landgrabber. A few days back Muneer died of heart attack and his children are claiming that they do not have any papers pertaining to the petition. Our corporator, Ahmed Balala, came to our support and quarreled with the landgrabber. Nothing resulted from his intervention either.

The landgrabber’s family has been buying property aggressively in our vicinities. Earlier they have attempted to occupy even our community hall. We are living under constant fear of their assault.

We also fear that in terms of communal tensions, this basti can be the most sensitive and vulnerable. The landgrabbers may utilize any opportunity of distancing the two peace-loving communities here so as to occupy the basti.

- Uma Maheshwari, Vice President, Jeevan Jyothi Mahila Mandali, and Residents of FM Devdi

Woes of Madar-e-Meherban Urdu

Matharu Pasha and other land grabbers, are attempting to sell off the land belonging to Idara Adbiyat-e-Urdu, Aiwan-e-Urdu, at Karab Bagh, Golconda Fort, Hyderabad. The land belongs to a Society that is dedicated to the promotion of and research on Urdu language and culture.

A “Committee for Protection of Land Owned by Idara Adbiyath-e-Urdu” was formed, with members drawn from Literary Associations, writers, Journalists, Human Rights and Civil Liberties groups, and Lok Satta. The committee visited the place on 10-2-2005 for inspection of the land and the circumstances there. The land grabbers Matharu Pash and his accomplice, who have an eye over this land for a long time, have threatened the Committee members with dire consequences.

In spite of the status quo order from the III Additional Chief Judge in City Civil Courts prohibiting occupation and dealings of any kind, the land grabbers have started construction on the site.

The Committee, headed by M.T.Khan, represented to Commissioner of Police, DCP West Zone, ACP-Asifnagar Division, and finally to the Home Minister. Nothing came of the representations. This prolonged indifference on the part of the police department only strengthened the public perception in this area that the Assistant Commissioner of Police of Asif Nagar Division was conniving with the land grabbers and was misleading the higher authorities.(This ACP has since retired from service.) In the public perception, corruption in the police department seems to be high on the list of the accused in this issue. The ACP was seen as responsible for increased landgrabbing in Asif Nagar Division.

Even a child in the old city knows that land grabbing does not happen without the active support of the local elected representatives.

Criminals have no religion

Jagdish Mandir near Lal Darwaja is a case in point. A rowdy sheeter is now the mahant of the mandir. The tenants - eight families - on the mandir premises have been living there for at least four decades, paying rent to the endowments department. Now the 'mahant' wants them to pay him the rent and served them legal notices to this effect. Tenants allege that he bribed endowments department to become the mahant. Wiser people say, the real chakkar seems to be to grab the land and some say MIM is behind all this.