'We were scared after Uttarakhand HC order, it was harsh'

DEHRADUN: Local residents of the Banbulphura area after getting relief on Thursday said they had been under a lot of pressure ever since the Uttarakhand high court ordered their eviction on December 20. A division bench of Justices Sharad Sharma and RC Khulbe, after completing the hearing in the matter on November 1, had reserved the verdict, which was pronounced on December 20.
A resident who did not wish to be named said that people in the area, many of whom had been residents since 1910, felt that their plea could not be put across properly as a result of which the HC issued a "strict order" asking for their evacuation by giving them just a week's time.
Sartaj Alam, a local resident, said that in November 2016 the HC had ordered to get the land vacated in a period of 10 weeks. "The then Harish Rawat government approached the SC and claimed that it was 'Nazul land'..." Alam said.