The bulldozer model of Uttar Pradesh, once hailed as a symbol of justice against injustice, faces mounting questions from even government ministers. Now, in Lucknow alongside Kukrail, a looming fear of bulldozer action threatens two thousand homes.
'We implore you, Yogi Ji...'
Residents of Pant Nagar in Lucknow express, 'If we are deemed wrong, then what's right? Where shall we go with grown children? Shattered by relentless tears, they implore, 'Do you wish us dead? Run bulldozers over us instead. Leave us be; our worries are monumental. It's time for studies; what's our next move?'
People beg, 'Please, Yogi Ji, see what's fair. We're paralyzed with fear.'
This fear stems from potentially losing homes where families have resided for four to five decades, suddenly labeled illegal.
Previously, bulldozers deemed homes illegal in Lucknow's Akbarganj. Now, Abrarnagar, Rahim Nagar, and Pant Nagar dwell in dread of similar fate. The children of Pant Nagar are pleading, 'Spare our homes; where shall we go? How will we pursue education?'
Source: aajtak
Homes marked alongside Kukrail river
The case concerns the capital of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow. Homes by the Kukrail drain are being marked out. Dwellings within a fifty-meter radius of Kukrail, declared a floodplain zone, face accusations of illegitimacy, with joint teams from the Irrigation Department, Municipal Corporation, and District Administration poised to take bulldozer action. Minister Sanjay Nishad questions the bulldozer approach in UP, regarding it as a factor in the reduction of NDA's seats.
Akbarganj in Lucknow has become history, its land now flattened. The worry is that Pant Nagar and Rahim Nagar may be next in line as the administration gears up to demolish homes for a development project.
Kukrail, a tributary of the Gomti river
What many consider a mere drain in Lucknow, Kukrail is officially a tributary of the Gomti river. The administration seeks to declare the fifty-meter zone surrounding it as a floodplain, judging any construction within it illegal. Previously, 1800 houses in Akbarganj were torn down under this labeling. Now 2000 houses in four localities may suffer the same fate.
'How could everything be illegal?'
Despite only marks made on surveyed homes, the residents question how decades-long dwellings with a history of voting and governmental development can suddenly be illegal. In protest, residents of Pant Nagar clutch copies of their property registrations, some even displaying them outside their homes.
'Wasn't it the responsibility of government departments?'
The residents highlight their compliance with municipal house taxes and water bills, asking if their documents are deemed illegal, then what is considered legitimate? They face the bewildering prospect that the very old homes rubber-stamped by various departments could now be classified as on government land. These departments fortified the area with pipelines, power poles, and collected all sorts of taxes.
Source: aajtak
'If we're illegal, then so is the whole of Lucknow'
A local resident asserts, 'If we are illegal, then the entire Lucknow is illegal. We have electricity, house tax, water tax, registration, and property records. Don't treat us like animals; we deserve human dignity. If it was illegal, they should’ve never allowed construction. They gave us electricity, water; how could it all be illegitimate?'
'Did the government develop an illegal settlement?'
Moreover, there are questions about the government's role in enhancing what is now being labeled as an illegal settlement, given that the government itself funded the construction of streets here.
For the survey of colonies established on the land of Kukrail river, the Irrigation Department and Administration teams were tasked. Markings have been made on constructions within the river and flood zones. LDA has been instructed by the state to identify building owners and issue notices.
