Devastated, slumdwellers return to ruined homes

Behrampada slum residents want to rebuild gutted houses on their own

Lives of about 4,000 people had gone haywire on June 18 when fire ravaged their houses at the Behrampada slum. But even 10 days later, there is no relief coming for them from anywhere. So, even before the debris left behind by the inferno could be cleared, the slum dwellers have begun reclaiming whatever remains of the place which was once their home.
Having stayed for a week at relief camps under the Bandra skywalk, waiting for the authorities to allot them transit homes, the families on Sunday took matters in their hands. They reentered their houses, cleared the debris and the charred belonging. They have now begun reconstructing these houses.
"A day after the fire, chief minister Ashok Chavan had announced that the state government would allot us transit homes. We waited for over a week and now we have decided to move back into our houses. We can't stay on the road any more," said Shabana Bano, one of the victims. A mother of two school-going children, Shabana said it was tough for her to stay with kids on the road in rains.
The responsibility to clear debris is with municipal authorities and the fire brigade, but the civic authorities have stalled the work after facing resistance from locals.
Assistant municipal commissioner Umashankar Mistry said, "It was necessary to pull down precariously standing portions of the slum, which had survived the fire. But the local people resisted the move claiming this would affect the survey to be carried out for identifying houses which were damaged in the fire. They instead demanded that debris be cleared manually."
Mistry said a civic staff was even manhandled at the site last Friday. The police then instructed civic officials to allow the locals to clear out the debris. BMC authorities now only transport the debris deposited by the residents on the road to the dumping sites.
Senior civic officials said the resistance of the locals was more to save illegal constructions inside the slum. While only ground-plus-one residential structures are permitted, most structures at Behrampada had gone up to four-storey.
The civic officials have ruled out compensation for any illegal constructions in the slum. According to an estimate, out of 1,100 constructions in the slum, only 700 were legal.