She instructed Kolkata mayor and minister Firhad Hakim to change their generic name to the rather more exalted uttaran-'ascension' in Bangla. The government even came up with advertisements publicising the step. But many slum-dwellers across Bengal's urban areas and especially in Kolkata soon discovered a dire facet to this exaltation-literally, a sense of being lifted off the ground under their feet.
This relates to the fact that the land on which many have resided for generations has of late been claimed by builders, and residents are being served eviction notices. For quinquagenarian Tarun Raychowdhury, the fight to save his residence in a slum on the eastern fringes of Kolkata began eight years back. He's among the 133 residents of 4, Ram Mohan Mullick Garden Lane who were asked to vacate their homes in April 2015 by a real estate firm, which claimed that it owned 6.3 acres of the land on which the basti stood. An even bigger shock awaited them after the eviction notices. Raychowdhury explains, "We have been paying for this property as thika tenants for years. But when we went to pay our municipal taxes, there was no record identifying us as the legal lessees."
Bu hikaye India Today dergisinin December 04, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye India Today dergisinin December 04, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
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