Eviction from railway land

WE agree that railway lands must be freed of illegal grabbers and encroachment. And no one can take issue with the authorities for taking actions to ensure the safety of the railway tracks and the safety of the railway passengers. But we certainly take issue with the method of the drive which commenced recently to free railway lands. It is, to say the least, highhanded and most inhuman. We feel that the slum dwellers as well as the many traders along the track should have been warned well before launching such a wide scale eviction drive.

We ask why is it that it took the lives of four people for the authorities to wake up to the problem. It is as if the illegal structures have come up only recently. The vegetable vendors have been carrying out their business along the railway tracks for God only knows how long! And this was a means of livelihood of so many poor people. Are we to believe that the railway police and other agencies were not aware of the slums that have been allowed to grow in exchange of rent?

While we believe that such drives are necessary we would want the authorities to go into the heart of the problem. A host of characters are involved in the whole business of minting money by renting out railway land. They have not been arrested, and perhaps never will be. There is a nexus of these people with the police, railway authorities and those that can provide them the guarantee of impunity.  And this link must not only be severed, all those who are linked with it, including the public servants, must be made examples of.