Plant expansion: BSL & admn evict 2300 squatters times news network ...

BOKARO: A joint team of Bokaro Steel Limited (BSL) and the district administration on Monday paved way for expansion of the plant by removing 2,300 squatters from company land by demolishing their illegal houses during an anti-encroachment drive in Addakuwari and Kashmir Colony in Balidih. Heavy rains did not deter BSL and administrative officials from carrying on the eviction drive.About 650 security personnel of CISF, district police and homeguards, besides 19 magistrates were deployed for the task. The management pressed 10 bulldozers, dumpers, trucks, mini-vans to demolish 350 illegal structures.
However, no untoward incident was reported as residents did not oppose the drive. Announcement through public address system to vacate the land was made earlier to the residents, said Chas SDO Sudhir Kumar Ranjan. Incessant rain made the situation all the more pathetic. Residents, especially women and children were seen removing their things from their houses in the rain. Though BSL distributed plastic covers it proved useless. BSL also provided them trucks to drop them with their luggage near the railway station. "It is inhuman to remove us in this way. BSL which has waited for so many years could have waited for at least wait one more day," said Ramesh Bedi, a resident. He said he was living there since the last 40 years. K Munda said he had settled here after coming from Chaibasa and was working as a contract labourer in a plant. Like him, many people have came from Ara, Chapra, Gopalganj etc. Many of them are milkmen. Addakuwari and Kashmir Colony, the two villages situated at a distance of 20 km from the district headquarters was earlier located adjacent to the BSL boundary wall. But with the first phase of expansion, the BSL management, to install a new steel melting shop-III, procured more land by putting up boundary walls and the two villages came under its periphery. The squatters, who were living here for the last four decades were not willing to leave the land and created hindrance in the expansion project. Though it is BSL's own land, the company is facing huge difficulty in removing the squatters led by iron mafia Illyas Choudhary. It is said that majority of villagers are involved in illegal trade of iron smuggling from BSL and work for Choudhary. Several rounds of negotiations were held between the BSL management and villagers, but that did not yield any result.
These two villages are one among the 77 places, which the BSL has identified for the anti-encroachment drive in its recent survey and had asked for administrative support. "Installation of SMS-III has already been delayed by three years causing a huge revenue loss to the company," said a BSL official. BSL chief of communication Sanjay Tiwari said the eviction drive was carried out successfully.