Jammu families hit by demolitions to ‘skip Id festivities, stay put’
Families in Jammu affected by recent demolitions have decided to forgo Id celebrations this year due to their displacement. The demolitions, which targeted structures deemed as encroachments on forest land, have drawn criticism from local leaders who claim it disproportionately affects a specific community. A fact-finding panel has been established to investigate the actions taken during the demolition drive.
- ▪Families affected by the demolition drive in Jammu will not celebrate Id this year.
- ▪As many as 32 structures were demolished, leading to claims of systematic targeting of a particular community.
- ▪A two-member fact-finding panel has been announced to investigate potential violations of the Forest Rights Act.
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With regional leaders rushing to express solidarity, families affected by the recent demolition drive in Jammu said on Thursday that they will not celebrate the upcoming Id in “makeshift polythene shacks and on foam floorings”.Saima Jan (name changed), is among two dozen families affected by the drive on May 19 in Jammu’s Raika Bandi area. “Around 5 a.m., bulldozers crushed our houses. Elders were offering prayers and younger ones were sleeping when the drive tore through the hutments. The first night we were forced to sleep with ants creeping in from all sides. The nearby panchayat ghar is full.”With Id being observed on May 27, the mother of four said there will be no celebrations this year. “We are left without shelter. We lived here over four decades and will not leave the place.
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