Jammu families hit by demolitions to ‘skip Id festivities, stay put’

As regional leaders rushed to show solidarity, families affected by the latest demolition attempt in Jammu said on Thursday that they would not celebrate the upcoming idle “in makeshift polythene shacks and foam floors”.

Saima Jan (name changed) is among the two dozen families affected by the attack in Jammu’s Raika Bandi area on May 19. “Around 5 am, bulldozers razed our houses to the ground. Old people were praying and young people were sleeping when the car broke through the huts. On the first night, we had to sleep as ants were coming in from all sides. The nearby panchayat ghar was full.”

With the holiday being celebrated on May 27, the mother of 4 said that there would be no celebration this year. “We are left without shelter. We have been living here for 40 years and we will not leave this place. We lived outside the forest fences. Voter cards, ration cards, electricity and water supply are proof of this. But now water and electricity are also being cut off,” he said.

‘Systematic targeting’

Some 32 structures were destroyed. Officials said this was against encroachment on forest lands. However, Haji Mohd. Gujjar Bakarwal Conference president Yousuf Majnu described it as “systematic targeting of a particular community”. “All the demolition work in Jammu is against a single community. We demand compensation and rehabilitation. The Center and the J&K administration should not forget the role of these communities in preserving J&K’s unity with India. Those behind this attack should be unmasked,” he said.

Ruling National Conference (NC) MLA and Gujjar leader Mian Mehar Ali and Peoples Democratic Party leader Iltija Mufti visited the affected families in Sidhra on Thursday. Ali said, “They were stuck on the roads in this scorching heat. There will be no identity celebration this year. The young people were preparing to participate in the anti-drug campaign the day they became homeless. We want a permanent solution to this. The Omar Abdullah government will intervene.”

Naming BJP MP Vikram Randhawa, who has staged a protest against encroachments in the area, Ms. Mufti said, “Mr. Randhawa visited the area 10 days ago and claimed that illegal houses will be demolished. Apparently, the BJP is instructing the NC on what should be done here. Who comes under the control of the Forest Department? This is not happening just today. Again, around April, around 20 houses were demolished in RS Pura.”

probe panel

A two-member inquiry panel announced by the J&K government will submit a report within seven days on any violations of the Forest Rights Act, 2006. The role of the Ministry of Forestry in this initiative will also be examined.

Forest Minister Javed Rana held Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha responsible for the “demolitions carried out without any notification”.

Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary claimed that such decisions are “taken by the bureaucracy” due to lack of State. “The demolitions were unfortunate. The elected government has no control over senior officials,” he said.

Opposition Leader Sunil Sharma stated that the BJP will not play any role in the demolitions. “BJP is not part of the government. The government must have given its approval. Anyone who encroaches on land should face not only demolitions but also criminal cases. First tents are pitched, then houses are built. There is a conspiracy to change the demography of Jammu. There is ‘land jihad’,” he said.