"Let Bulldozers Run Over Us...": Haryana Villagers As Demolition Fear Looms

The Supreme Court on June 7 ordered the demolition of "illegal structures" in Faridabad's Khori village, saying they were "encroaching" on the Aravali forest area.

Oppu Roy, 24, a resident of Khori village in Haryana says, "We will not leave from here, let the bull dozers arrive, let them run on us but we will not move. we will put our jhuggis here and continue living here". Meena Mishra, another resident, says, "If our homes are demolished, we will die here, we will not go from here. we will not leave this land. we will die here only with our entire family". The Supreme Court on June 7 ordered the demolition of "illegal structures" in Faridabad's Khori village, saying they were "encroaching" on the Aravali forest area. The Municipal Corporation says it will abide by this order, reiterating these structures are on a notified forest land. Surendra Kumar, who runs a small kite shop in the village says, "Neither will my mother leave, nor my sister, nor my children, nor me and we are ready to get buried here but we will not leave this place". But for more than 50,000 here, life has come to a standstill amid the pandemic with fear of losing their homes. Now, they say, their water and electricity supplies have been cut off. Many like Sheetal, a resident, walk four kilometre every day to get a pot of water in the scorching heat.