Madrasi Camp houses razed for Barapullah drain clean-up

The Capital's civic agencies on Sunday morning razed over 300 structures in a demolition drive at the Madrasi Camp slum cluster in Jangpura, south Delhi, to facilitate civic works, especially cleaning the Barapullah drain in the run-up to monsoon, following a Delhi high court order on the issue.

- Varun Bhandari and Aaditya Khatwani

NEW DELHI:

Despite the drive being put on hold twice and eligible residents having been rehabilitated, the task force of civic agencies—comprising the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB)—deployed a heavy police contingent due to protests by residents. The drive started at 7.30am.

Anil Banka, district magistrate of South East Delhi, who oversaw the action, said it was carried out as per the court's directive. "The Barapullah drain has become narrow; there were obstacles in cleaning the drainage. During heavy rains, the area floods due to these obstructions. We have allotted flats in Narela to 189 families living here; 181 were found ineligible," he said.