Latifpura protesters climb down water tank after assurances

Coming as a huge relief for the local administration, the 11 occupants of the Latifpura locality, who had been protesting atop an overhead water tank at Butan Mandi, finally climbed down safely after 28 hours on Wednesday evening.

The occupants had been averse to forcible shifting of their belongings to flats in Bibi Bhani Complex, about 8 km from Latifpura, on Tuesday as the demolition drive, started about three years ago, had resumed.

ADC (Urban Development) Jasvir Singh went to the spot this evening and started negotiations with the occupants on the phone. The protesters, who had climbed the water tank around 1 pm on Tuesday, finally agreed to come down around 5 pm this evening.

Members of the Latifpura Rehabilitation Front and the affected families were taken for a fresh discussion regarding compensation with Deputy Commissioner Dr Himanshu Aggarwal, ADC (Urban Development) Jasvir Singh, Commissioner of Police Dhanpreet Kaur and DCP Manpreet Dhillon.

Post the discussion, the DC said, "We have offered the families a rehabilitation plan at Bibi Bhani Complex flats. Some of them wanted plots at Surya Enclave Extension as compensation. We are ready for that as well. They were also seeking monetary compensation, regarding which their request would be forwarded to the government."

As per the details received from administrative officials, 27 families from Latifpura had applied for an alternative site. So far, seven families have been shifted to Bibi Bhani Complex. During the meeting today, representatives of the affected people claimed that there were 72 families, who had got displaced. But the officials have told them to submit their documents for claim and get the allotment process completed within 24 hours for a departmental verification.

The DC said 49 flats at Bibi Bhani Complex and 15 plots at Surya Enclave Extension would be allotted to the affected families, subject to verification of their claims. He also said the 5 per cent amount, usually required to be deposited for allotment of flats and plots, would not be charged from these families. Besides this, he also assured repairs of the flats by the administration.

Dr Aggarwal said a team is also being deployed to resolve other issues of the families and ensure proper solutions to their problems. He said every possible help will be extended to meet the needs of the seven families who have got shifted from Latifpura.

Dhanpreet Kaur also assured the members of the front and the affected families that the cancellation of cases registered against them during the protests in the last more than three years would be considered.

Today's meeting was attended by SDM Randeep Singh Heer, officials of the Jalandhar Improvement Trust, Santokh Singh Sandhu of the Kirti Kisan Union, Mandeep Singh of the BKU Rajewal, Kashmir Singh Ghugshor and Hans Raj Pabwan of the Pendu Majdoor Union Punjab, Jaskaran Singh Kahan Singh Wala from the Kisan Union Amritsar, Gurdeep Singh Bhandal of the Punjab Kisan Union (Baghi), Dharminder Singh of the BKU Dakaunda, Bibi Pinde Basi and Lakhvir Singh Saunti of the Kisan Union Amritsar, Sukhjit Singh Droli, Gurmukh Singh Bajwa, Gurpratap Singh, Haji Bittu Chauhan, Baljinder Singh Lasoi, Mahinder Singh Bajwa, Amrik Singh Chhina and others.

Since the road in front of the demolition site was opened today, the traffic went on smoothly. The pipelines for surface water project were being laid by the staff of L&T. The police, however, remained deployed to keep an eye on the protesters.

A fresh controversy has erupted after two residents of the same locality — Charanjit Kaur and Harjinder Kaur — alleged that they had also been asked to shift to the Bibi Bhani Complex as their houses were likely to be razed in the coming days.

“Earlier, we were told that only a shed in front of our house would be demolished, but now we are being asked to pack up and leave. We have not received any notice, but at least four officials have visited us, saying we would have to vacate as our houses fall on the proposed 120 foot road to be extended through Latifpura. If our houses — where we have been living for over 70 years — were to be demolished, we should have been informed during the drive carried out in December 2022. At least we would have had time to plan our relocation. I don’t know how I will manage all this alone with my four children,” Charanjit Kaur said.

While the DC denied any further demolition of houses, JIT Chairman Ramneek Singh Randhawa said there was a possibility of additional demolitions.