Kogilu demolition: NGOs left to manage food needs of displaced families

Over 160 displaced families in Kogilu rely on NGOs for food as government housing promises remain unfulfilled.

More than two months after their houses were demolished in Kogilu Layout and parts of Waseem Layout in Yelahanka, over 160 displaced families continue to survive on ration supplies arranged by NGOs and, more recently, a private housing group, as government’s promise of rehabilitation remains unfulfilled.

However, while NGOs stepped in to provide vegetables, rice, and pulses, they have now said that they are running out of funds and have begun online fundraising campaigns to continue support. Recently, Vakil, a private housing development corporation, has put up a tent and is currently distributing ration supplies. Before this, Sangama, an NGO, had been coordinating food distribution. 

With Ramzan going on, families said several individuals and religious groups have begun visiting the area to distribute cooked food, especially during the evening.   

The houses were razed on December 20. In the days that followed, Housing and Minority Welfare Minister B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan assured affected families that eligible beneficiaries would be provided housing by January 2. The deadline was later pushed to January 5. But weeks have turned into months, and families say there has been no progress on allotment of homes.

On December 30, the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission directed the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) to arrange basic facilities for the displaced families, including food, drinking water through a temporary facility at a nearby playground, and a mobile health centre. However, even over 50 days after the directions, affected families say no such arrangements have been made. “There is no official ration supply, no dedicated drinking water facility. After the first week, nobody from the government came to check how we are living,” Nazri Fathima, one of the dwellers said.

When The Hindu visited the site more than two months after the demolition, the living conditions remained precarious.