At least 10 policemen were injured in a scuffle with evictees of the Ramachandi Balikuda slum near the railway station here on Thursday. The scuffle erupted when the district administration began fencing the area freed from the slum dwellers earlier.
Police have detained 26 persons in this connection. According to information, policemen wielded their batons as evictees resisted workers from fencing the area. Then the slum dwellers started pelting stones at the cops.
However, Puri SP refuted the charge that police personnel lathi-charged the evictees first. He said that eight to 10 policemen were injured due to brick-batting by the slum dwellers. “Where will we goIJ At the time of eviction, they had said that they would provide us alternative land to build our huts. But nothing has happened till date,” said an old man who was evicted earlier.
He alleged that the slum dwellers were evicted despite having voter identity cards and getting various allowances under Government schemes. The land evicted land would be used by the Railways for construction of a yatri nivas to provide accommodation to visiting pilgrims during the upcoming Nabakalebara festival.