The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and police on Friday removed the belongings of the squatters living under the Gariahat flyover, a week after mayor Firhad Hakim said “ragpickers” would not be allowed to live on pavements and would be relocated to shelters for the homeless.
The drive under the flyover started around 9.30am and almost all the items had been removed by the time it ended an hour later. KMC employees removed the items in the presence of a large team from Gariahat police station.
“We did not evict the people from there. We just removed the items that were making the place dirty,” said an officer of the police station.
KMC officials said around 100 people lived on the stretch. They hung clothes from beams on the underbelly of the flyover and also kept beds, chairs and tables under the structure.
“Most of the things were donated to us by some kind-hearted people. We are homeless and we do not own them,” said a man who lives under the flyover.
Mayor Firhad Hakim had on January 20 spoken about removing people living on pavements to shelters for the urban homeless.
“If some unidentified people live in the city, it could lead to law and order problems any day. Besides, they are also making the city ugly by stacking bottles and other items on footpaths. They cannot keep these things on footpaths,” the mayor had said.
“The police have to find out who these people are. The police should check their Aadhaar cards and voter cards, and verify whether they are citizens of India or not. After identifying them, the police should shift these people to shelters for the urban homeless.”
Some of the squatters are abusive and get involved in frequent fights among themselves, said a resident of a house along the stretch.
“I am scared to walk along the stretch at night,” he said. “They bathe and defecate in the open. The government has a responsibility towards them, but that doesn’t mean they will be allowed to occupy public spaces.”
A woman who lives under the flyover said similar raids happened earlier, too. She said they were willing to relocate, but only to a place where they can stay throughout the day.
“We will not go to night shelters,” she said. “If we are sent to a night shelter, we have to roam the streets during the day.”
A man who has been living under the flyover with his two sons, two daughters and wife said: “They took away our utensils, clothes, quilts and bedsheets. Even our identity cards were taken away. The uncooked food like rice and dal was removed, too.”
“These people will eventually be sent to shelters for the homeless,” a KMC official said on Friday.