Nagpur : It may seem impossible, but it has happened in Nagpur. The homeless have been evicted.
Nagpur has been endowed with beautification in light of the G20 summit that it has the privilege of hosting. However, the summit has taken some victims. Usually, the victims in such events are almost always the poor and the common man.
This time around, it is no different.
The Eviction
There are many areas around Nagpur where makeshift homes, made of wooden logs and tin roofs have been erected by people who do not have a place to stay.
The footpath is the only place that accepts them, so they have grabbed a corner and erected these structures which they call home. These homes have leaking roofs in the monsoons, scorching roofs in the summers, and freezing floors in the winters.
While these homes have been here for years, no efforts have been made to relocate these people into a more humane settlement. So, they carry on with their lives, eating, making love, pooping, and sleeping around this pity of a structure.
The G20 summit came as a surprise for these residents of the green city. A not so happy surprise though. The walls of the city were being painted with beautiful art, some showing the rich fauna across Nagpur, others giving social messages. The houses of these poor souls were blocking the walls. Their home was razed, so that the walls could be drawn upon. The municipality officials ‘cleared’ their homes, like they were garbage on the streets. In a matter of minutes, they were left with a pile of wood and tin.
The Struggle
Once the homes were razed, the path was cleared to paint the walls. The homeless watched from the other side of the footpath, as the painters drew a fake picture of the city for the G20 delegates. The weather added salt to their wounds. Rains lashed Nagpur on the same day their houses were uprooted. Without a roof, they were at the mercy of nature. They slept on their wet cot as the rains receded, bore the harsh sun when it eventually showed itself, and are living in dismay. Neither are they relocated nor are they taken care of by the state.
As the G20 fever comes to an end, nothing has changed for the homeless. They have started building their homes again. No one is stopping them now. After all, there are no more foreigners and ministers to serve a fake narrative of prosperity and cleanliness of the city.
Although they are aware of the possibility that their homes may be taken away again from them for the sake of a few, they build, to struggle and live another day.
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