'We Lose Our House Every Day'

With nearly one in every 100 people in India living under the threat of eviction, the weight of anxiety, fear and confusion has become an inescapable reality

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"WE don't know how long we'll have a roof over our heads. My heart sinks every day with the fear that our lives and memories will soon be turned into rubble," says Kulsum*, 56, who has lived in Delhi's Khyber Pass for almost 30 years, ever since she moved into the neighbourhood after marriage. It's the only place she has ever called home since then.

On July 13, Khyber Pass witnessed the demolition of at least 250 homes by the Land and Development Office, which comes under the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. While Kulsum's house survived the first phase of the demolition drive, the threat of eviction looms large. She says, "Since the demolition, we've forgotten what it's like to sleep in peace.

It feels like we lose our house every day." In Ahmedabad's Santosh Nagar, 60-year-old Abida Biwi Abdul Rehman Sheikh lives in a state of constant anxiety. Her sleep has been disrupted ever since the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation pasted an eviction notice in her colony. Abida moved here nearly 10 years ago, after being relocated by the state from the floodplains of the Sabarmati River for the construction of the Sabarmati Riverfront Project.

The notice warns that the rehabilitation flats, already in a state of severe disrepair, could collapse any moment, urging residents to vacate as soon as possible. "They gave us houses of such poor quality, and now when our flats are crumbling, they expect us to make our own arrangements.