GREATER NOIDA: At least four of the six
families whose houses were demolished under the orders of the Noida
Authority have been rendered homeless. While two of the families were given accomodation in Janata Flats in Sector 71 on Thursday evening, at least 20 members of four other families, including children, had to leave their belongings out in the open.
Kusum Devi, a maid and widow, and her two children are part of the six families that have lost their homes.
According to Noida Authority officials, the houses are illegal structures that have come up in different locations of the city where underground reservoirs and water tanks are located. Illegal structures like these have been mushrooming across areas around 20 reservoirs and 25 water tanks and in sectors 5, 8, 15A, 19, 37, 40, 50 and Phase II, among others.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a Noida Authority official said Authority workers have constructed such houses near sewer plants in sector 5 and Naya Baans area. “The Authority has constructed some houses for its labourers in the premises of water tanks in the city. However, the contractors and their labourers then began constructing illegal structures here and have been living here for years,” the official said.
Like Kusum Devi, whose late husband worked at the UGC plant in Sector 71 till his death, the houses of five other workers were demolished by the Authority fearing that a Shahberi-like incident might occur.
These workers include pump operators Udayvir, Naresh, Amit and civil workers Chandan Bisht and Pradeep. Chandan’s wife Janki Devi, told TOI that they have been living in the compound for the last eight years.
“We constructed this
house when our previous accommodation was demolished by the Authority and the nursing home contractor in 2016. I have three children. All our belongings are lying out in the open. We should at least have been given a warning to vacate the houses,” she said.
While the Authority officials admit that their employees have been living in illegal structures, there seems to be no alternative arrangement for the families staying in dangerous conditions.
“There are people staying over the water tanks and in sewer plant compounds. It is very dangerous but it seems these workers are not a priority of the Authority,” a worker said.
ACEO RK Mishra said since these are workers of the Authority, it becomes to difficult to relocate them. “These houses in Sector 71 water tank compound have been demolished as there was a fear that they may also collapse. Only a wall has collapsed as there was no boundary wall supporting them,” he said.
