Residents of Jodhpur fear eviction as these colonies are in a mess
In the neat and clean residential blocks of Pandara Road, Hidden in the middle lays a colony surrounded by a brick wall, constituting of a dirty track along with a decaying single-storey houses with their broken roofs roofed with tarpaulin sheets.
Locally the colony is identified as Jodhpur Mess servant quarters. As per the residents about six years ago, Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has confirmed these houses as ‘damaged’ meaning that the life of the houses is over. They declared that as per CPWD directions these houses are to be vacated. The threat of the houses being demolished has been looming large over them. They emphasise that is they are expelled, they should be provided with new houses by the government.
A part from declaration the residents also hope of little help. They have sent a request to a Member of Parliament of the New Delhi parliamentary constituency and senior Congress leader, Ajay Maken to go through the matter of their eviction. Under the jurisdiction of the constituency the colony lies.
A series of letters have been written to defence ministry by Maken, whose copies have been shown by the residents. In one such letter to the Defence Minister, A K Antony, dated February 4, Maken appealed him to assign quarters to the residents of the colony.
Maken claimed while talking to the sources that the colony’s residents have received notice of eviction about three months ago. He mentioned that he wrote to the defence minister A K Antony, and requested him to look into the matter. As per the decision of ministry people who have been staying at the Jodhpur Mess (servant quarters) for the past 20 years will be shifted to an area falling in the vicinity of the colony.
But from the Defence Ministry no statement has been issued.
Conversely, the residents claimed that a total of 90 families stay in this colony , together with those who have been staying there for fewer than 20 years. They requested that the people who have been living there from past 5 years should also be relocated.
On the other hand, Maken alleged, there has to be a benchmark. And it will be 20 years.
According to claims of the residents the colony was constructed during the days of the British. Rajender Singh, a 41-year-old man who is the chairman of the Jodhpur Mess Residential Servant Welfare Association, an unrecognised body created to avoid aggressive evictions of the residents said initially there were stables and rooms for caretakers in this colony. The houses were constructed by removing these stables.
As per the mentioning of Rajender, mostly women are the residents of that colony who works as domestic helps for the officers of the Armed Forces, including the Army, Navy and Air Force, who reside in houses located at Jodhpur Mess. They alleged that no salaries are being paid by the officers to them as there is no rent for their quarters.
Manoj said, in our colony water drains have been blocked many times but no repair work has been done on that. The rains add to the disaster and the roofs of the houses have caved in for which they had to place tarpaulin sheets on them. He added when it rains we do not sleep inside our house as we have a fear that the roof might fall on us.
Source: Tribune India
A K Antony, Air Force, Ajay Maken, Armed Forces, Army, Central Public Works Department, Defence Ministry, Government, Jodhpur Mess servant quarters, Manoj, Navy, New Delhi parliamentary constituency, Pandara Road, Rajender Singh, Residents, senior Congress leader
