Congress MLA accuses Uttarakhand govt for Banbhoolpura residents' plight facing eviction; check details

Congress MLA from Haldwani Sumit Hridayesh on Tuesday (January 3) "strongly supported" the agitation by residents of the Banbhoolpura area against the removal of encroachments from the "so-called" railway land, holding the state government responsible for their "plight".

Speaking to the news agency, Hridayesh said, "People have settled in the area (Banbhoolpura) for nearly 100 years. Seventy-year-old mosques and temples stand there. There is nazul land, freehold land, lease holders."

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The Congress leader said the state government never tried to tell the Uttarakhand High Court about the people to be affected by the removal of encroachments, which is being undertaken by the administration in compliance with a high court order.

"We personally went to the high court to oppose the removal of encroachments from 78 acres of land which the railway calls its own. We even went to the Supreme Court where our senior leader Salman Khurshid is fighting the case but the government which built schools and hospitals on the land did not show any care for its citizens," Hridayesh said.

Hridayesh, who represents Haldwani seat in the state assembly won traditionally by Congress veteran and his late mother Indira Hridayesh, even recently participated in a dharna being held by the agitating residents.

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On December 20, 2022, the Uttarakhand High Court had ordered the removal of encroachments from 29 acres of railway land in the Banbhoolpura area of Haldwani after giving a one week advance notice to the encroachers to vacate it. Thousands of residents of Banbhoolpura had protested the removal of encroachments, saying it would render them homeless and jeopardise the future of their school going children.

There are a large number of women, children and the elderly among those to be affected by the removal of encroachments. The residents even moved the Supreme Court on Monday against the high court's order through Congress leader Khurshid, who is also an eminent lawyer.

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The apex court will hear the plea on January 5. AICC secretary Kazi Nizamuddin also raised the issue at a press conference in Dehradun on Monday, asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take a humane view of the matter. He had also thanked Hridayesh for strongly taking up the case.

(With inputs from PTI)