Drive against particular community, say residents
■ Bulldozers roll into Shaheen Bagh, forced to return without carrying out anti-encroachment exercise
New Delhi, May 9: The anti-encroachment drive in Shaheen Bagh has instilled fear among the residents and it targeted a particular community, claimed locals as they protested through the day against the South Delhi Municipal Corporation's action in the area on Monday. Hundreds of people, including women, opposed the drive of the BJP-ruled SDMC as bulldozers rolled into the area in the presence of a huge number of police personnel, even as the civic body team was forced to return without carrying out the exercise.
"There are illegal constructions at several locations across Delhi, so why the hype around Shaheen Bagh only? It shows authorities' intentions to target a particular community,” said Shaheed Siddiqui, a local. Fortyfive-year-old Iftakar, who was born and brought up in the area, decried the anti-encroachment drive and said it has instilled fear among residents.
The protesters raised slogans against the civic body as well as the Centre and
demanded that the action be stopped. Some of the women protesters even stood in front of the bulldozers to prevent the exercise. “I have never witnessed something like this in my lifetime,” rues Iftakar, who is still trying to figure out what transpired in Shaheen Bagh earlier in the day.
He has joined hundreds of locals at the Kalindi Kunj main road in protest against what he called a “sham” anti-encroachment drive. The locals claimed there were no illegal constructions in the area. “There was just one extended iron structure that the bulldozers found and even that was removed manually by the locals here. What exactly are the authorities trying to do here? Scare us?”asked Siddiqui. “I’ve been staying here with my family. We have never witnessed something like this in this area before,” Iftakar said.