CM's visit to proposed Indira canteen assures 'jail bhagya' for slum dwellers
- Every time CM goes on Bengaluru rounds; these slum dwellers have to spend the entire day at the police station.
- Dwellers say they fear a similar fate on August 16 when CM will officially inaugurate an Indira Canteen.
- Why should Eijipiura slum dwellers be kept in preventive custody for CM's visit? Asks opposition.
FollowKarnataka CM Siddaramaiah's 'Canteen Bhagya' is known for courting controversy. This time, the Indira canteen being built at Eijupura, next to the National Games Village in Koramangala, Â has sent a shiver down the spines of slum dwellers living on the footpath.
A recent visit by CM Siddaramaiah to inspect the progress on these canteens on Saturday was like a curse to over 25 families living here as the police mercilessly took them into preventive custody.
The slum dwellers say each time the CM is on city rounds; these families are the first to be picked and housed in the police station for the whole day in Central Police Division.
"When we asked the police why they are arresting poor persons and slum dwellers unnecessarily, the police say it is for the safety of CM and to avoid any commotion during CM's visit," said Shanta Mary, a slum dweller.
Sridhar Reddy, General Secretary, Bengaluru City, BJP, who intervened after few of the family members approached him to get the slum dwellers released said, "The slum dwellers are not terrorists and anti social elements to keep them under preventive custody. I am pained by the plight of these dwellers. First, they were evicted from slum homes without any transit arrangement by authorities and now each time the CM visits the Koramangala area, these poor people are forcefully taken to police station for no valid reason," Â Â
Many slum dwellers now have chorionic diseases like diabetes and BP, following their eviction in 2013. Having lost jobs during the eviction, a few families could not afford to move into any rented house. Hence they continue to live in the footpath.Â
"The police is fearing that when CM comes to open Indira Canteen next to our road side tent, we may approach CM and tell on his face that, he is championing the cause of 'Gharib Hatao' and not 'Gharib'," she said.
The dwellers say the local MLA failed to protect the interests of poor slum dwellers and now his party's CM visit is making their lives hell. JDS National Spokesperson Tanveer Ahmed criticised the police action and said the taking away of slum dwellers is unconstitutional and inhuman.Â
"These dwellers are not criminals. It is a shame that the Congress government has not been able to look into the issue. Many birth and deaths have been reported in these very place which also knows for housing to top IT and start up firms," he said.
