Bangalore slum dwellers protest against politicians

Bangalore, April 11: Several citizens of Bangalore including residents of Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) quarters gathered near the Karnataka Pradesh

Committee (KPCC) office on Queens Road and marched over to hand a memorandum to the Congress Party on Wednesday, April 10.

The memorandum, attached in English and Kannada, expressed their disgust at the way party MLAs and corporators have blatantly colluded with Garuda mall builders to displace over 1500 families of EWS quarters in Ejipura to make way for a mall in Bangalore.

EWS residents vehemently expressed their anger over the constant harassment by goons of the local Congress MLA.

They insisted that Congress should reconsider giving tickets to Shantinagar MLA N.A. Haris to contest in the coming Assembly elections, alleging that their homes were demolished at the MLA's behest.

The group then went to the BJP party office in Malleswaram near 11th cross, and handed over a memorandum and chided the BJP government as the presiding state government under which such demolitions and massive loot of public resources for private gain has been taking place.

An EWS resident Sareena poignantly said, "The rich like owners of Garuda Mall have plenty of money to purchase land. We, the poor, have no other land to go but the place where we have lived for so many years. Is it necessary for them to displace only the poor in order to get cheap land? Can't they afford to buy land honestly? If we weren't legitimate residents on this BBMP land reserving for housing poor people, why did the government issue us documents explicitly recognising our rights of residence there?"

OneIndia News