Thousands of people in Uttarakhand protested against the order of the Uttarakhand High Court which asked the authorities to evict the “unauthorized occupants” of the railway land adjacent to Haldwani Railway Station, known as Gaffur Basti- a Muslim-majority area.
In a shocking mass violation of human rights, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led Uttarakhand state has ordered the demolition of 4,365 houses in a Muslim-dominated area that will render more than 4000 families homeless.
— Indian American Muslim Council (@IAMCouncil) December 31, 2022
As per news reports, the High Court has ordered the demolition of 4,365 buildings, majority of people living in the area Muslims, built by “encroachment on 78 acres of railway land” and a sum of 23 crores would be spent on this campaign.
The demolition driver will “pounce on encroachers” in the midst of 7,000 police officers and 15 paramilitary groups.
On Wednesday, the general secretary of Jamiat Ulama-e-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.
“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.