By TC News Desk
Agartala, 18th November 2024: Tripura Leader of Opposition Jitendra Chaudhury on Monday urged Chief Minister Prof. Dr. Manik Saha to halt the eviction process until provisions for livelihood and alternative accommodation are made for families below the poverty line.
Chaudhury made this appeal in a letter addressed to the Chief Minister. In the letter, Chaudhury, who is also a CPIM MLA, mentioned that as part of a delegation, he, along with CPIM MLAs Sudip Sarkar, Ramu Das, and former MLA Ratan Das, visited the Border-Golchakkar area near the Akhaura Checkpost under Agartala Municipal Corporation on Sunday morning.
“For the last few days, houses belonging to poor working-class people, who have been residing on the land adjacent to the road for 6-7 decades, have been demolished with bulldozers to construct an alternative national road in the area. Suddenly, these homes—their only means of livelihood—are being bulldozed, forcing the affected families to live under the open sky in complete destitution,” the letter reads.
He noted that due to their extremely low incomes, nearly 99 percent of these evicted families are finding it almost impossible to rent or secure alternative accommodation elsewhere.
“Where will they go in this situation? Meanwhile, winter is fast approaching. If alternative accommodation is not arranged for them on an urgent basis, they will soon face a humanitarian disaster. During the inspection yesterday, some of the displaced families handed over a memorandum to the government through me. Apart from those named in the memorandum, there are many others we could not meet. In the memorandum, these distressed families requested the suspension of the eviction operation until alternative accommodation is arranged and demanded appropriate compensation,” Chaudhury added.
He pointed out that during the previous Left Front government, in the process of expanding and modernizing Agartala city, the road alignment was marked by constructing drains on both sides for an alternative national highway. However, after the new government assumed office in 2018, a fresh alignment was planned for this road, resulting in the destruction of many families’ homes.
“The actions of the Agartala Municipal Corporation and the state administration, carried out without providing alternative accommodation, are completely unwarranted, cruel, and inhumane. I humbly appeal to you on behalf of the visiting delegation and these displaced families. Immediate arrangements for alternative accommodation with basic human amenities must be made for the affected families. Additionally, livelihood provisions should be ensured for families below the poverty line. Until such arrangements are in place, the eviction process must be put on hold. I sincerely hope you will consider this serious matter from a humanitarian perspective and take prompt action,” the letter concluded.
