Helpless evicted families go to DDC

Aizawl, June 2 (UNI) Almost 62 families, who had been evicted from the Phunchawng and Rangvamual localities by the Supply Reduction Service (SRS), submitted a memorandum to the Aizawl district deputy commissioner, seeking his help in getting back their houses.

In its 'anti-liquor campaign', the SRS had evicted as many as 100 families in the two localities and marked their doors with a big red 'X' since February this year. However, some families were compelled to stay in their neighbours' houses as they had nowhere else to go.

Apparently, some Aizawl-based human rights activists were supporting the evicted families in their submission of memorandum to the DDC.

Besides, the great public outcry against the SRS due to an alleged drug-dealer's death at the hands of the SRS on May 8, might have emboldened the evicted families to claim their rights.

One of the 'X-62', as some newspapers called them, was a 58-year-old widow, Dingi, who is presently taking shelter at her jhum hut with her 15-year-old handicapped son.

Sources said the SRS volunteers had allegedly recovered some local liquor from her compound in March.

The house of Dingi was constructed under the IAY scheme under the Centre's implementation of the UNO's 'Shelter for the Homeless' project. Consequently, locking a house constructed under the scheme was a very serious offence, one of the rights activists said.

Condemning the SRS' eviction order, president of the Human Rights&Law Network Ruatfela Nu asked, ''While the district authorities prohibited us from organising a peaceful demonstration against the murder recently, why did they allow the self-appointed law enforcers to evict people and lock their houses?'' He was referring to the proposed 'peaceful' demonstration to protest the death of the alleged drug-dealer in the SRS office, scheduled for May 14, which however was foiled by the Aizawl DDC.

UNI