15 poor families living in tents near Bengaluru’s Vijayanagar Metro Station near Tollgate were evicted from their tents amidst the lockdowns in Bengaluru. These migrants families depended on selling balloons and other things for their livelihoods are now deprived of their right to housing and are now searching for a place to live. All these families are with children to be taken care of, are now searching for a place to stay.
These families who have migrated from Madhya Pradesh have been living in Bengaluru for several years now. They had managed to put-up tents below the metro pillars and make a living. They were selling Balloons and other things to earn their bread. However, since the lockdown was been imposed in the state, their livelihoods were shattered and were forced to beg. Later, Jana Sahaaya and Karnataka Covid Volunteers Team (KCVT) intervened in their case, provided them with ration kits and arranged medical testing for these families. However, they have now complained that they were forcefully evicted by the police 5-6 days ago.
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As of now, these families are living below the under-construction Flyover at Dhobhi Ghat Signal. However, The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Administration is forcing them to move from there too. These families have alleged that the BBMP officials have warned them to vacate the place and not to be seen around the area for atleast 15 days.
Will Arrest the Men!
The families were living near Vijayanagara Tollgate Metro Pillars for over fifteen years now. Some of their children are studying at prestigious institutions including Don Bosco. They had also admitted their children to schools and colleges near the Toll Gate area. However, they were forcefully evicted from the place all of a sudden. There exist no facilities for even the most basic necessities including drinking water and toilet near the place where they have moved to.
“The Police are visiting us and threatening that they would admit our children to child care centers and women to orphanages. They also threatened that they would jail the male members of the family. Hence, some of our family members got scared and went back to their native places but we are not able to go” said Sumer belonging to one such family.
There are no washrooms for women, we have more than 25 children along with us. We are tired of moving from place to place. The families are requesting the administration to allow them to stay at their places near Magadi Road Toll Gate.
The BBMP Administration must urgently take cognizance of the issue and ensure that the rights of these families are not violated.
