Slum-dwellers happy to see their homes razed

Slum-dwellers happy to see their homes razed
But they will have to wait for some months until they can move to new houses built under JNNURM
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: It’s demolition for development. Now, the 40-yearold Desyeshanagar slum area near Lazar Road in Fraser Town is all set for a facelift under the Basic Service for the Urban Poor (BSUP) project of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).
Forty huts here were demolished on Saturday to start work on the first vertical block of new houses for slumdwellers. There are over 112 huts on an old graveyard belonging to the BBMP.
HOPE FOR BETTER FUTURE
People here are mainly labourers from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and parts of Karnataka. Most of them have been living under unhygienic conditions for many years.
The project worth Rs 2.77 crore is expected to address much of the issues here, turning an encroached graveyard into neat dwelling blocks for residents in 15 months.
The proposed plan has four vertical blocks — each having a ground plus three floors with 32 houses.
Each house will measure 15 feet x 20 feet with a kitchen, bathroom, hall and even some dining space.
While each unit will cost close to Rs 2.47 lakh, slumdwellers will pay 12% of the cost for the facilities they get.
Most of them have already paid an advance of Rs 5,000, and will have to pay the balance Rs 23,000 (approximate) once the units are complete and ready to be handed over. “They have been waiting for such a development ever since the slum had an association formed in late 1980s. In 2004, the BBMP handed over this slum to Karnataka Slum Clearance Board (KSCB),” said Bosco Anthony, an association member.
There’s also a proposal for a community hall, health centre and school within this complex. But these remain to be approved. For the next few months until the units are complete, these dwellers will have to squeeze in or shift elsewhere.
A majority of them were spotted on the roads. Yenkamma, who’s out of work now, is excited about the new houses. But there’s a problem: “Ivaaga Yellamma Irodu?” (Where do we live now?)