Over 80 homes demolished in Indore road widening drive:Residents say generations-old houses razed without compensation, or rehabilitation support

A road-widening project from Gutkeshwar Temple to Sadar Bazar Road in Indore led to the demolition of more than 80 houses and shops on Monday. The municipal corporation’s removal team launched the operation with heavy machinery and over 100 personnel deployed at the site. Municipal official Ankesh Bairathariya said the drive is being carried out using 9 Poklane machines and five JCBs. However, local residents allege that their decades-old homes are being razed without any alternative housing, plots, flats, or compensation arrangements. The action has particularly affected elderly people, widows, and destitute residents who claim they have no other shelter apart from these homes, some of which have belonged to their families for four generations. See 4 pictures… Woman says, “Where do we go at the age of 65?” Krishna Pathak broke down in tears as municipal bulldozers moved in to demolish her house. Speaking through sobs, she said, “My family has been living on Gutkeshwar Temple Road for four generations. I was born in this very house, and now I am 65 years old.” 5 families used to live together in this house. Everyone has left. I am a widow living alone, and now my house has also been demolished. The administration has not given us any compensation,” she alleged. “I was born here and thought I would die here” Krishna Pathak said, “There is vacant government land in front of our houses, yet the administration has left it untouched. Instead, our homes are being demolished.” She added that the authorities had served them notices, but questioned their purpose. “When we have no other place to live, what were we supposed to do with those notices?” “I was born here and thought I would spend the rest of my life here. But now, everything has been taken away from us midway through our lives,” she said. “Only a 6-foot Kitchen is left, where will we live?” Rajkumari Mishra (47) expressed her helplessness as she watched her home being torn down. “My husband and I have no support. We have no children and no one to look after us. In addition to issuing notices, the administration should have arranged an alternative place for us to live. We have received neither compensation nor a flat. No one is helping us,” she said. When asked how much of the house had been demolished, she said that around 15 feet of the structure had already been razed, leaving only a 6-foot kitchen. “Officials are now saying that this, too, will be demolished. You tell me, if they tear down even this kitchen, where will we go? Will we sit on the road? Will Prime Minister Modi give us a place in his home?” she asked. “How can anyone live in such a tiny space? This is the only area left. If it is the kitchen, then where will we sleep, eat, or cook?” Demand for plots, flats, or permanent rehabilitation Families being displaced between Gutkeshwar Temple and Sadar Bazar Road said they are not opposed to the city’s development or the road-widening project. However, they argue that rendering people homeless without any alternative arrangement is unjust. The affected residents appealed to the administration to provide plots, flats, or some other form of permanent rehabilitation for displaced families. They also demanded that what they described as selective action be stopped and that encroachments on actual government land be removed instead of demolishing homes where poor families have lived for generations. House demolished despite a 120-foot-wide road Some residents alleged that their houses were demolished beyond the marked limits and that their grievances were not being heard. Sanjay Minaria said, “There is already a 120-foot-wide road in front of our house, so why is our home being demolished for a 60-foot road?” He added, “My parents are elderly. At this stage of their lives, they are deeply distressed because they built this house through years of hard work, and now the municipal corporation has demolished it.” Congress leader says BJP has “Ravana-like arrogance” During the demolition drive, Indore City Congress President and Leader of Opposition in the Municipal Corporation, Chintu Chouksey, visited the area and spoke with residents. He said, “Across the city, nearly 500 development works of varying scales remain incomplete. Yet an atmosphere of fear has been created on this road as if these people have committed some crime.” Criticizing the ruling party, Chouksey said, “The BJP’s mayor, ministers and legislators have developed arrogance like Ravana, and that is why this kind of terror has been unleashed.” He added that the Congress party stands with the affected families and would continue to raise their demand for justice.