Odishatv Bureau

Bhubaneswar: In yet another eviction drive in the capital, the administration confronted stiff opposition from the slum dwellers while demolishing the houses at Narayan Basti of unit- VIII here on Saturday.

The joint drive taken by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) and the General Administration (GA) witnessed clash between the police forces and the dwellers. Even the enraged dwellers have pelted stones at the police, opposing the drive.

“The authorities want to demolish our houses forcibly and when we opposed it, they arrested our people”, said Bipin Bihari Hota, a slum dweller.

With women being shoved from their houses and children crying loud, the scene turned pathetic. Anguished over the incident, a father even tried to throw his kid in front of the bulldozer. However, these couldn’t deter the authorities in following the directions.

Meanwhile the General Administration has said that all the displaced families will be provided a temporary shelter for the time being.

“A total of 80 families were there to whom identity cards were issued. While 36 families have already shifted,  rest are provided with transit shelters where they didn’t agree to go. So, they are being evicted today”, said N. Nayak, Director, General Administration.

The slum area that is stretched to more than two and a half acre will be now under the BDA.

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