Social activist Medha Patkar visited Govindaswamy Nagar, the colony alongside the Buckingham Canal in R A Puram which has been in the news for the eviction drive conducted by state agencies.
She took part in a demonstration where she said that people must be resettled in a humane manner and done so locally so that livelihoods are not affected. She also met the family of a resident man who immolated himself in the recent protest.
The eviction drive has been suspended after the state chief minister promised to provide alternate accommodation in new blocks that are now under construction.
The houses of residents along Elango Street here had to be cleared after they lost in a legal case where a local businessman sought the clearance since the slum was developed close to the waterbody and was illegal.
Residents have said the state had not argued their case strongly and that since they had lived here for decades, they must be resettled locally.
- File photo of a previous protest at this site has been used here.
