HYDERABAD: Close to 40 Dalit residents of a slum in Basheerbagh were evacuated from their homes, after four houses in the area collapsed in the heavy rains that lashed the city a few days ago. The displaced persons were crammed into a tiny community hall, but their woes were far from over.
Now, the evacuees claim, the residents living around the hall are demanding that they vacate it. Crying foul over their poor living conditions, the slum-dwellers, who are mostly daily-wage workers, say that they will be forced to kill themselves if the government doesn’t help them.
As many as 15 Dalit families have been living in a narrow and harrowing pocket, obscured by high-end apartments and office buildings, for the last many years. None of these grim-looking, dingy houses have washrooms inside them, and for generations, women here have been using public toilets, while men defecate in the open.
A few days ago, 48-year-old daily-wage worker S Ashok’s life came crashing, as he saw his decades-old house collapsing in the rain. "In a fraction of seconds, my family and I, who have spent all our lives in this 20-foot house, became homeless," he said, with tears in his eyes.
Apart from inhabitants of the four houses that collapsed, the GHMC also evacuated residents from other houses in the slum over potential destruction. Many families say that they prefer staying in their shaky homes than go homeless, as they fear they may die on the streets.
Pointing at the picture of her dead husband and elder son, 50-year-old Laxmi said that now, the roof above her head has also been snatched away. She says, "It’s been more than four days since we lost our homes, but no one has offered us food or proper rehabilitation. We are Dalits. All our life, we have cleaned rich men’s houses, sewage, and roads. Now, when we are in need, no one wants to even look at us."
The community hall where all the 40 evacuees reside at present is capable of housing just 10 people. With a few neighbours raising objections over their stay, their plight has magnified. "They are asking us to vacate the hall as they want to use it for a wedding and Bathukamma festivities. They are saying they’ll call the cops," said a mother of two.