Nowhere to go, say Usmanpur residents served eviction notices for Yamuna beautification project

New Delhi: An anti-encroachment drive that was to begin on Tuesday in the Usmanpur area of Delhi's Shahdara has left in the lurch several residents, who were given just a day's notice to vacate their homes of decades. On March 2, the authorities served an eviction notice to residents of the locality near the Old Iron Bridge, asking them to vacate their homes by Monday. The raze drive, a part of the Yamuna beautification project, was scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. For many, the land on which they built their homes represents a lifetime of memories, struggles and survival. A woman in her 60s, Pushpa Devi has called the place home for the past 40 years. She lost her eldest son and his wife several years ago in an accident, leaving her to raise their daughter.

Describing the weight of her responsibilities, she told media reporters, "I work as a house help. I take care of my granddaughter and my sick husband. If I am forced to move, I will have nowhere to go. We don't have relatives we can camp with." "I urge the government to let us stay a little longer until we find a new job and a shelter," the sexagenarian said. Pinky Kashyap (21) is facing a similar crisis. Five months pregnant and a one-and-a-half-year-old daughter to take care of, she is struggling to make ends meet. Her husband works as a shopkeeper in Greater Kailash, earning Rs 12,000 a month. "Where will I go with my child in this condition? We don't have enough money to rent a house or a room. My husband earns only Rs 12,000 a month and, in a city like Delhi, it is extremely difficult to afford rent, along with other expenses," she said.

Seema, in her 50s, has lived under the fear of displacement. That fear has now become a reality. "We have lived in constant fear that someone might come and ask us to leave. We are poor, where will we go with our children? If we could afford to pay rent, we would not be living here," she said. Like others, Seema also requested the government to provide them with a shelter. In a related development, a senior police officer said heavy deployment would be made during the anti-encroachment drive. "More than 1,500 Delhi Police officers, along with paramilitary personnel, will be deployed. No one will be allowed to breach law and order," he said.