Haldwani eviction order | Among protesters, a huge sigh of relief: ‘We will celebrate Eid today’

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the government has always maintained that the matter is in court, and that it will “follow whatever the court says”.

People rejoicing the Supreme Court’s verdict staying the order of the Uttarakhand HC evicting people living on land claimed by the railways in Haldwani. (Express)

Spread over a 2.2-km strip of land, the affected area covers the slums of Gafoor Basti, Dholak Basti and Indira Nagar – all falling under Banbhoolpura area of Haldwani — and is home to at least three government schools, 11 accredited private schools, 10 mosques, 12 madrasas, a government public health centre and a temple.

Shakeel Ansari, the municipal councillor (Independent) of Ward number 31, under which the slums fall, said, “We are delighted with the Supreme Court’s decision. The court’s unbiased decision has reconfirmed our faith in the judiciary. The Supreme Court has saved over 50,000 people from being thrown onto the roads. This is also a result of the prayers of thousands of women and children who were out on the streets in this chilling winter.”

Protest in Haldwani on Wednesday. (ANI)

Ansari said his house and two houses of his family members are in the disputed area.

Speaking from Delhi, to where he travelled on Wednesday ahead of the Supreme Court ruling, Asif Ali, a resident of Banbhoolpura’s Indira Nagar, said all families in the affected area spent the last few days in panic. “The Supreme Court is our saviour,” he said.

Taufeeq Ahmed, who travelled with Ali to Delhi, said, “The Supreme Court’s decision shows the true meaning of ‘satyamev jayate’.”

Residents of Banbhulpura hold a candle march to protest for their demands following the order of Uttarakhand High Court on removing the encroachment near Haldwani railway station, on Monday. (ANI Photo)

Political parties were almost unanimous in welcoming the court decision.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Congress MLA from Haldwani, Sumit Hridayesh, said the court order will “restore balance” in the area.

Dismissing the claim by residents that the 1907 record established the area as nazul land, the HC said the document is only “an official communication, it will not have a statutory force”.

“We knew that the Supreme Court would give a stay. We are very pleased that the due process of law happened. The court has delivered us interim relief and asked all parties concerned to show their appropriate papers. As far as development goes, as far as the government goes, as far as the people go, they have tried to restore the balance. This was a fair process of law and we welcome it,” said Hridayesh.

BJP state president Mahendra Bhatt also welcomed the Supreme Court decision, saying the government had already clarified that the decision of the highest court would be respected by all.

The residents, some of whom have been living there for decades, have been protesting against the court order. (Source: Twitter/@ShayarImran)

“The Congress has to be blamed for this situation that has caused thousands of families to struggle in courts. The court has asked questions of both the state government and the Railways and we are hopeful that the matter will now be solved… The BJP has sympathy for the thousands of families in Haldwani,” he said.

BJP spokesperson and Uttarakhand Waqf Board chairman Shadab Shams said that if the Supreme Court had not given interim relief, they would have gone to court to save 18 of the Waqf properties that are in the affected area.

Hundreds of people, mostly women, have been turning up after the afternoon namaz to protest in Haldwani, asking for the demolition process, scheduled for January 8, to be stopped. (ANI Photo)

“We welcome the Supreme Court decision. This is a humanitarian decision as a demolition would have left people out in this biting cold. The court said that the railway land should be measured afresh. The court also directed that there should be a system to rehabilitate those affected. A panel of Waqf Board lawyers was ready to go to court against the railways if the Supreme Court had not given interim relief,” he said.

Samajwadi Party state secretary Waseem Siddiqui said the court’s decision is a “slap on the faces of those who had compared the protests with the Shaheen Bagh protests” against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).