Kalyanpur slum dwellers clash with police
HC stays eviction for 3 months
Staff Reporter
Police and slum dwellers locked in a fierce clash during an eviction drive at the capitals Kalyanpur slum yesterday, leaving several people injured.
Meanwhile, the High Court yesterday issued a stay order for three months on the eviction of Kalyanpur slum, which houses over 20,000 low-income people. The HC also asked the government not to harass or arrest any slum dwellers without any specific allegation.
Witnesses said a team of Public Works Department along with a police force went to the Kalyanpur slum yesterday in the morning to carry out an eviction drive. Officials said they had given prior notice to the slum dwellers to move from the slum.
The eviction team gave slum dwellers two hours to remove their belongings before the drive began. But several hundreds slum dwellers armed themselves with bamboos and sticks and took position at the entrance of the slum to resist the slum operation.
Slum dwellers also set various materials on fire as part of their anti-eviction demonstration.
A tense situation was created and when the eviction team tried to move in, slum dwellers hurled brick bats at them. Police retaliated by firing tear shell canisters. When police tried to enter the slum through another entrance, they faced stiff resistance from slum dwellers. A chase and counter chase ensued police and slum dwellers that left several people including a police injured.
Md Hannan Akanda, general secretary of a Community Based Organisation of the slum said, There is courts injunction not to evict the slum. So, the slum dwellers resisted the eviction drive as the authorities tried to forcibly evict them.
However, Executive Magistrate Nur Alam said, We did not receive any such court injunction. We have repeatedly informed the slum dwellers about the eviction drive. They had been given time. And today (Thursday) we came to evict them.
Obanti Nurul, a lawyer for Ain-O-Salish Kendra, said around 20 thousand people are living in the slum that has been built on land owned by the ministry of housing and public works. When the government tried to evict the slum earlier, a writ was filed and the court issued an injunction order, he added.
Though yesterdays eviction drive failed to evict the main slum, some illegal structures in front of the slum was removed.
Different organisations demanded proper rehabilitation of the slum dwellers before any eviction.
Meanwhile, in response to a writ petition filed by Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), a High Court bench comprising Justice Tariq-ul Hakim and Justice Bhishmadev Chakrabortty yesterday stayed for three months the eviction of Kalyanpur slum.
Barrister Sarah Hossain, counsel for ASK, said the High Court had earlier, 10 years ago, issued a restriction on the eviction of Kalyanpur slum. But, ignoring the HC order, the government carried out eviction drive in the slum without giving prior notice to the slum dwellers, she said.
The HC bench came up with the directive soon after the government started the eviction drive in the slum yesterday morning.
While dwellers alleged that the authorities concerned started the eviction drive without any prior notice and rehabilitation. The authorities, however, said they issued repeated eviction notices beforehand. Dr Kamal Hossain, with the assistant of Sarah Hossain, appeared for ASK while Assistant Attorney General
