Jammu families hit by demolitions to ‘skip Id festivities, stay put’

With regional leaders rushing to express solidarity, families affected by the recent demolition drive in Jammu said on Thursday that they will not celebrate the upcoming Id in “makeshift polythene shacks and on foam floorings”.

Saima Jan (name changed), is among two dozen families affected by the drive on May 19 in Jammu’s Raika Bandi area. “Around 5 a.m., bulldozers crushed our houses. Elders were offering prayers and younger ones were sleeping when the drive tore through the hutments. The first night we were forced to sleep with ants creeping in from all sides. The nearby panchayat ghar is full.”

With Id being observed on May 27, the mother of four said there will be no celebrations this year. “We are left without shelter. We lived here over four decades and will not leave the place. We lived outside forest fences. Voter cards, ration cards, electricity, and water supply are testimony to that. But now water and electricity are being cut off too,” she said.

‘Systematic targeting’

As many as 32 structures were demolished. Officials said it was against encroachments on forest land. However, Haji Mohd. Yousuf Majnu, president of the Gujjar Bakarwal Conference, termed it “systematic targeting of a particular community”. “All demolition drives in Jammu are directed towards one community. We demand compensation and rehabilitation. The Centre and the J&K administration should not forget the role of these communities in maintaining J&K’s unity with India. Those who are behind the drive should be unmasked,” he said.

Ruling National Conference (NC) MLA and Gujjar leader Mian Mehar Ali and Peoples Democratic Party leader Iltija Mufti visited the affected families in Sidhra on Thursday. “In this scorching heat, they were left on the roads. No Id celebrations will be there this year. The youth were preparing to participate in an anti-drug campaign the day they were made homeless. We want a permanent solution to it. The Omar Abdullah government will intervene,” Mr. Ali said.

Naming BJP legislator Vikram Randhawa, who had held a protest against encroachments in the area, Ms. Mufti said, “Mr. Randhawa visited the area 10 days ago and claimed illegal houses would be demolished. It seems the BJP directs the NC on what actions to take here. Under whose control does the Forest Department come? This is not happening just today. Around April too, nearly 20 houses were demolished in R.S. Pura.”

Probe panel

A two-member fact-finding panel, announced by the J&K government, will submit a report on any violations of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 within seven days. It will also look into the role of the Forest Department in the drive.

Forest Minister Javed Rana has blamed Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha for “demolitions without any notices”.

Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary claimed such decisions were “taken by the bureaucracy” due to the lack of Statehood. “The demolitions were unfortunate. The elected government lacks control over senior officers,” he said.

Leader of the Opposition Sunil Sharma ruled out any role of the BJP in the demolitions. “The BJP is not part of the government. The government must have given its nod. Anyone who has encroached land should not only face demolitions but also criminal cases. First tents are set up and then houses. There is a conspiracy to change the demography of Jammu. There is ‘land jihad’,” he said.