THE Dhaka South City Corporation鈥檚 attempt to evict cleaners from their colony in the Old Town of Dhaka, going against a High Court decision, that has left many injured is unacceptable. The Miranzilla Harijan Colony residents say that on July 11, the city authorities used force to evict them and supporters of the Ward 33 councillor attacked them in the presence of an executive magistrate. A photograph that 抖阴精品 published shows the damage and destruction of a temple. The Dhaka Medical College Hospital says it has treated at least 25 of the injured. The city authorities, however, brush aside the allegation and say that they were there to supervise some other construction work. The city authorities on June 10 pulled down a few buildings and evicted more than two dozen families when the High Court ordered a one-month status quo on the eviction and asked the government not to do anything until an alternative arrangement is ensured for the residents. The attempt at evicting the cleaners is, therefore, a violation of the High Court order.
Miranzilla Harijan Colony residents have lived there for generations and earned a living off the same cleaning jobs for pitiable wages, with no prospect for a comfortable retirement. The decision to evict cleaners, who can no longer serve the city without rehabilitation, is, therefore, a socially irresponsible move. The mayor, however, tries to justify the eviction, saying that the decision to expand the kitchen market at the place was made in February 2016. It means that the authorities had at least eight years to implement the rehabilitation of the community. There are similar instances of eviction without rehabilitation which show the government鈥檚 exclusionary development policy that ignores socio-economic concerns of marginalised communities. About 150 families were evicted from the Gopibagh Harijan and Telugu Colony in Dhaka in 2019 and 2023 as part of the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project. Most of them are yet to be properly rehabilitated. Many residents of Kamrangirchar in Dhaka in March expressed concern as the city authorieis decided to build a commercial hub on 1,200 acres of land, which, if implemented, could displace thousands.
The city authorities must, therefore, stop pulling down buildings in the Miranzilla colony and arrange for a proper rehabilitation of all cleaners who they need to move out. The communities also need special allocation under the social safety net to reduce their vulnerability from extreme poverty, job loss or old age. All authorities must abandon the tendency of making arbitrary decisions without discussion with stakeholders. City market expansion or any development project that results in the homelessness of marginalised people is discriminatory and socially irresponsible.
