Residences of about 7,000 people living in Jhopadapara, New loco Colony and Devridih coming under Bilaspur Municipal Corporation seems to be in a quagmire as the sword of forced evacuation looms on their head.
The land originally belongs to South East Central Railway, Bilaspur and the Railway authorities are planning to construct a loco shed and railway track in the area. The corporator of Jhopadapara, B Kameshwar Rao told The Pioneer in a telephonic conversation that people have been living here before Independence. “Koyla majdur (labourers handling coal) used to live here before 1947 who worked for railways.
Now family members who have been living here since then are being forced to vacate the area as Bilaspur railway division is going to construct a loco shed here. All we demand is some time so that we could find shelter for us,” says the Corporator. Railway had served notices to the dwellers before. Sulochna Dongre another resident of area and also the member of self help group that run a school providing free education for children in Jhopdapara claims that about 7,000 families would be ruined by this decision of Railway authorities.
“I am the third generation of my family living in this area. My grandparents lived here, my parents died here and I will not leave this place at any cost,” tells Dongre and resentment in her voice cannot be ignored. Kalpana Manjhi a mother of three and another resident of the area tells that there are about 1700 houses in the Jhopadapara area alone. “We have approached every authority for help but all we have got is verbal assurance whether it may be through the district administration or railway or it may be municipal cooperation.”
The agitated residents in large number had reached district collectorate to meet district Collector on Thursday. However in absence of district Collector Additional Collector Neelkanth Tekam received the memorandum.