Katori Devi moved to New Delhi from Bihar hoping to make a better life for herself and her family. She, her husband, five children and other relatives erected a hut to live in --- a home that provided shelter and a base for her husband's street side blacksmith business.
The problem was that the land they built on belongs to the government. And the government has decided to take it back.
In a matter of minutes bulldozers level the place, leaving whole family perched on a bed atop a sea of rubble. They have nowhere to go.
"They did it so fast that there was no time to take out anything. And the bulldozer broke everything on the way," Devi said.
"It's like we were picked up and thrown away," she said.
Bulldozers razed the makeshift home and hundreds of others as the Indian government moved to improve New Delhi for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Officials said the land is for a road and the demolitions are simply part of a master plan to clean up the city and move slum-dwellers to proper housing.
But, the government said, there will be no relocation for families like Katori Devi's because they do not meet relocation requirements.
The government said they are squatting too close to the road, and are located in a major development zone.
"You see they have encroached on the specific project lengths -- there will be no notice, no relocation projects for them," said New Delhi Mayor
About 3 million people live in New Delhi's slums, the government estimates. Mayor says New Delhi is slated to build 100,000 new apartments, though only 6,800 are under construction.
Critics say demolishing housing that has been here for years and relocating some residents but not others will hurt many who live on the margins of society.
"They'll be pushed to the brink," said a NGO personnel.
"Eventually I think what the planners are doing, they are not realizing they'll be building up a pool of violence."
The people who live in New Delhi's slums are some of the city's maids, drivers, street vendors and day laborers. Experts argues the city could not survive without the services that the slum dwellers provide.
The slums may not have looked like much to outsiders, but to families who had lived there for years, they were everything. Their businesses, homes and temples were there. Now they are lost.
Some huts are still standing, for now. Among them is the home of Kasturi Devi, built more than 20 years ago by the family who still lives there.
But that is little comfort for Kasturi as she sees what has happened to the homes a few yards from her house.
"I came to the road yesterday after being scared seeing the bulldozer," Kasturi says. "You must have seen the front part has been broken."
It has been two days since the latest slum eradication, but families are still eking out a living amid the ruins. A mother cooks for her children, a 90-year-old woman with a walker sits on her bed and some one's pet goat is tied up at a shrine, waiting for its owner.
Katori Devi looks around as night falls. She will spend another night in the open with nothing to keep her warm but a small fire.
"We are going to sleep right here. There is no place other than this."
Delhi Slums - Past
Today, the population of Delhi is over 14 million. More than 4 million of these people live in slum colonies that are chronically overcrowded and lack even the most basic amenities. Although India is experiencing significant economic growth and increased prosperity, the benefit of this does not trickle down to the level of the slum dwellers and so the gap between the rich and the poor is growing ever wider.
Migration in search of work
Life in rural villages in India can be hard, with limited opportunities for employment. Over the last 60 years, millions of people have travelled into Delhi from outlying areas in search of work and a better life. The cost of living in the city is far higher than in rural areas, resulting in difficulties even for those who do find employment. They set up makeshift shelters with whatever materials are to hand, and form settlements on waste ground or on pavements.
Rapid population growth
In 1947, there were 2 million people living in Delhi. There are now over six times as many inhabitants, with rapid and chaotic urbanisation placing an enormous strain on the infrastructure of the city. The government of India is struggling to cope with the needs of a population of this size and the social problems that can accompany it. Meanwhile, population growth all over India means that people in rural areas find it even harder to earn a living from the land and so travelling to large cities in search of work remains an option.
Insecure settlements on unwanted land
The slum settlements take root in a variety of places. They can form next to railway lines, under bridges, on swampy ground or next to 5-star hotels, but they all have one thing in common; the people who settle there never own the land. The slum dwellers live in constant fear of eviction from their site as the authorities can decide to reclaim the land at any time, giving little notice.
The slums may not have looked like much to outsiders, but to families who had lived there for years, they were everything. Their businesses, homes and temples were there. Now they are lost.
Some huts are still standing, for now. Among them is the home of Kasturi Devi, built more than 20 years ago by the family who still lives there.
But that is little comfort for Kasturi as she sees what has happened to the homes a few yards from her house.
"I came to the road yesterday after being scared seeing the bulldozer," Kasturi says. "You must have seen the front part has been broken."
It has been two days since the latest slum eradication, but families are still eking out a living amid the ruins. A mother cooks for her children, a 90-year-old woman with a walker sits on her bed and some one's pet goat is tied up at a shrine, waiting for its owner.
Katori Devi looks around as night falls. She will spend another night in the open with nothing to keep her warm but a small fire.
"We are going to sleep right here. There is no place other than this."
Delhi Slums - Past
Today, the population of Delhi is over 14 million. More than 4 million of these people live in slum colonies that are chronically overcrowded and lack even the most basic amenities. Although India is experiencing significant economic growth and increased prosperity, the benefit of this does not trickle down to the level of the slum dwellers and so the gap between the rich and the poor is growing ever wider.
Migration in search of work
Life in rural villages in India can be hard, with limited opportunities for employment. Over the last 60 years, millions of people have travelled into Delhi from outlying areas in search of work and a better life. The cost of living in the city is far higher than in rural areas, resulting in difficulties even for those who do find employment. They set up makeshift shelters with whatever materials are to hand, and form settlements on waste ground or on pavements.
Rapid population growth
In 1947, there were 2 million people living in Delhi. There are now over six times as many inhabitants, with rapid and chaotic urbanisation placing an enormous strain on the infrastructure of the city. The government of India is struggling to cope with the needs of a population of this size and the social problems that can accompany it. Meanwhile, population growth all over India means that people in rural areas find it even harder to earn a living from the land and so travelling to large cities in search of work remains an option.
Insecure settlements on unwanted land
The slum settlements take root in a variety of places. They can form next to railway lines, under bridges, on swampy ground or next to 5-star hotels, but they all have one thing in common; the people who settle there never own the land. The slum dwellers live in constant fear of eviction from their site as the authorities can decide to reclaim the land at any time, giving little notice.
Nice Article showing real face of Indian Slums. Indis is poor country but Indian Politicians are richest in the world.
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