Ejipura

Members of the Peoples’ Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) voiced concerns about the term ‘encroachers’ being used to describe Ejipura evictees. To prove that they are not encroachers but original allottees, they shared documents of property rights of the evictees, at a press conference held on 9 July 2013. PUCL, in association with Housing and Land Rights Network, another international NGO focussing on housing for poor, also released a report titled ‘Governance by denial,’ which analyses the related events before and after the eviction. Ramadas Rao, a member of PUCL, said the allegations of MLA N A Haris that evictees…

On 11 June 2013, Suvarna News 24X7 and TV9 news had reported that the Mayor, Venkatesh Murthy, asked for the concessionaire agreement between the Maverick Holdings and the BBMP, related to Ejipura Economically Weaker Sections Quarters. However, chief engineer Rangaraju, who took over from erstwhile chief engineer B T Ramesh, said that the file was missing. Citizen Matters' effort to try to know why the Mayor wanted the files did not receive any reply, as the Mayor asked us to talk to the BBMP Commissioner. The Commissioner, Lakshminarayan, remained unavailable over phone for any clarifications. But here is the ‘missing’…

A small but significant monetary gesture came from a concerned group of children from Indiranagar wanting to do something for their deprived counterparts of EWS. They approached ActionAid to doing something memorable for the deprived homeless children. Consequently, a children's summer camp 'Chinnara Loka' was planned for 28 May and 29 May, 2013.Around 35 children participated from the EWS homeless community. The two days were spent in singing, painting and games which were designed to bring out their talents. Ananth, cultural child rights activist facilitated this programme. ‹ › $(document).ready(function(){ $('.carousel .carousel-inner .item').first().attr('class', 'active item');});We, the organisers were not surprised…

Recently unearthed details about the concessional agreement between the BBMP and Maverick Holdings show that the BBMP intends to hand over additional land to the firm but the BBMP is yet to inform its residents about it. Maverick Holdings is constructing a commercial complex as well as 1,512 low income homes at the site previously occupied by tin sheds housing low-income housing allottees, their tenants and squatters. But now the land previously allocated to pourakarmikas is also being handed over to Maverick Holdings. In response to an RTI query, B T Ramesh, Chief Engineer of the BBMP, replied that apart…

When 900 families of Ejipura slum were thrown out last month, it was chaos for the families. While most have dispersed across the city, trying to find housing, about 55 families have moved into a Slum Board quarters in Kudlu, along Hosa Road (off Sarjapur Road). About 80 families (450-500 people) remain in the footpath near the Ejipura site as they could not afford alternate housing. Many families stayed out for days initially, even though most flats in the complex were vacant. Pic: Navya P K Most of those who are in the Kudlu quarters, reached here by accident. They…

On Saturday, February 9th, as a group of people from vastly different sections of society came together to lead a march from Austin Town to the Ejipura EWS demolition site, with an intent to express solidarity with the displaced, they came up against the indifference of the state and the brutality of the police.It has been close to a month now since the day that 5000 people from over 1200 dwellings lost their shelters, livelihoods and any semblance of stability in their lives that they might have had. 9th of February, protestors were stopped before they reached Ejipura, which led…

After days of demolition and threats by the police, some 150 residents still remain in the quarters. Even as the police and BBMP officials are forcing them to move out on Republic Day, Maverick’s bulldozers are busy flattening the space. Post the demolishing at Ejipura EWS quarters. Pic: Julie McGuire [www.juliemcguire.com] Maverick’s representatives are reportedly giving Rs 5000 to the residents to encourage them to move out without fuss. These are people who have not found a house at all, or have not been able to pay the full advance amount for their new houses.Elizabeth, over 60 years old, lives…

Aruna Chandrasekhar's phone hasn't stopped ringing since Tuesday evening. Her desperate call for relief for people at Ejipura had actually reached a significant number of people. This, thanks to involved citizens reaching out through their personal and social networks.Aruna, in her twenties, is a freelance photographer and writer has long been involved in social activism, particularly in environmental and mining-related issues. On the morning of January 18th, her friend and activist Kaveri Indira Rajaraman, a post-doctoral fellow at the Indian Institute of Science, called her. Kaveri has been fighting for the rights of those residing in Ejipura EWS (Economically Weaker…

People slept under the very bulldozers that destroyed the community, curled up inside huge circular pipes, while using each other and all of their belongings to generate precious warmth in Bangalore's bitterly cold nights. Some burnt anything and everything expendable to keep tiny fires going. Smoke billowing up from these fires, personal belongings strewn around here and there - the occasional lovely mirrored wooden dressing table lying amidst a sea of rubble, steel almirahs popping out of nowhere like mini skyscrapers - the Ejipura EWS quarters resembled a badly devastated war-zone. Some family's furniture piled together at the demolished EWS…

A BBMP demolition drive that began on Friday January 18th at Ejipura's EWS slum quarters, near Koramangala in south Bengaluru has driven up tensions and trauma. Around 200 people protested at BBMP head office on Saturday morning. The protesters included around 25 EWS quarters residents, along with residents from slums across the city who came to pledge support, most of them women. Around 30 Dalit organisations supported the protest. The quarters are a ramshackle bunch of tin-sheds. Demolition of a building. Pic: Navya P KYasmeen, 49, with her 4-year-old son, waiting outside their house with their belongings. Pic: Navya P…