Houses razed without consent, say Moolakothalam residents
She rushed from work on July 29 to find her house, reduced to rubble. 'I never signed any document agreeing to accept a house elsewhere. So how can they demolish my home without my consent. Under what law is this even allowed,' asked Ms. Sumathi.
The settlement, locally known as Paal (Milk) Depot, lies opposite the Greater Chennai Corporation's Zone V office in Moolakothalam in Old Washermanpet. Residents, primarily cattle-rearers who have lived there for generations, still keep cows and sell milk for their livelihood.
On July 29, officials from the Chennai Corporation, accompanied by police personnel, arrived at the site. Residents were told to vacate their homes, their belongings were placed outside, and demolitions began.
According to residents, the eviction process began earlier with an enumeration of families and the allotment of housing units in the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) tenements built in Moolakothalam. However, several families refused to relocate, demanding patta for the land they have lived on for decades.
M.D. Saravanan, another resident, questioned the rationale behind the eviction, pointing out that the area was not a waterbody and was originally allocated by the British for cattle maintenance. He added that the TNUHDB housing is poorly constructed and a haven for anti-social elements.
According to the Regional Deputy Commissioner (North), there were 187 families in the settlement during the enumeration in 2024. 'Some families requested TNUHDB tenements. Since the land belongs to the Corporation and we had vacancies, those who were interested came forward and paid the initial installment. So far, 63 families have paid. Others are slowly coming forward,' he said, adding that the land has been earmarked for an upcoming CMDA project.
Activists, however, condemned the eviction, calling it arbitrary and inhuman. J. Sebastian, social worker part of the People's Committee for the Right to Livelihood, criticised the DMK government for delaying the issuance of pattas, and said that doing so makes evictions easier and sidesteps legal protections.
He said that the eviction process was unlawful, as it was carried out without proper notice, legal procedure, or the consent of those affected.
In a statement, the Urban Housing Land Rights Federation said, 'We urge the government to immediately stop its selective demolitions that target only the encroachments of the poor, while turning a blind eye to large universities, hospitals, and commercial complexes that have encroached upon water bodies, causing floods during the rainy season and destroying essential water sources.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
4 hours ago
- Economic Times
5 true crime podcasts that reveal the failures of justice systems
Synopsis These five investigative podcasts explore how justice can go disastrously wrong, focusing on wrongful convictions, systemic failures, and deep-rooted issues like racism, classism, and institutional negligence. Through gripping storytelling and firsthand accounts, they reveal how flawed legal systems in both the U.S. and U.K. have devastated lives—often with little accountability. NYT News Service **EMBARGO: No electronic distribution, Web posting or street sales before SUNDAY 5:01 A.M. ET JULY 27, 2025. No exceptions for any reasons. EMBARGO set by source.** A variety of podcasts show how a stew of racism, law enforcement misconduct and bureaucratic incompetence led to wrongful convictions on both sides of the Atlantic. (Irene Rinaldi/The New York Times) -- FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY WITH NYT STORY INVESTIGATIVE PODCASTS BY EMMA DIBDIN FOR JULY 27, 2025. ALL OTHER USE PROHIBITED. -- True crime has remained a cornerstone of the industry ever since the first season of "Serial" in 2014 ushered podcasts into the media mainstream, and the expansion of audio reporting has allowed numerous cold cases and wrongful convictions to be reexamined. These five investigative podcasts document failures within justice systems on both sides of the Atlantic, caused by a combination of factors, including racism, classism, law enforcement misconduct and bureaucratic incompetence. 1. 'The Great Post Office Trial' The British postal service may not sound like an obvious setting for a real-life horror story, but that's exactly what unfolds in this gripping BBC investigative series. Beginning in the early 2000s, a number of post offices across Britain began recording major, unexplained shortfalls in cash that often snowballed into thousands of pounds. Sub-postmasters in charge of the affected offices, most of them relatively small, were held personally responsible for the losses, forced to take on devastating debts to pay them back and prosecuted for financial fraud. It took a long time for the truth to emerge -- the shortfalls were nonexistent, invented by a faulty new computer system -- and by then, hundreds of lives had been destroyed. Over 21 episodes, Nick Wallis chronicles what the country's Criminal Case Review Commission called the "biggest single series of wrongful convictions in British legal history." The Kafkaesque stories, told largely by the victims, describe being swept up in an inexplicable, seemingly bottomless, spiral of debt toward false accusations on the part of a system too clunky to recognize its own flaws. On the way, each time they sought help or explanations, they were met with gaslighting. Although a public inquiry has now led to overturned convictions and millions of pounds in compensation, the nightmarish toll of this 20-year scandal (13 lives were lost to suicide) feels too vast to fully repair. Starter episode: "The Imaginary Heist" 2. '13 Alibis' This absorbing series, which debuted in 2019, was the first podcast launched by "Dateline," the long-running television newsmagazine on NBC. Hosted and produced by Dan Slepian, an NBC News journalist, "13 Alibis" explores the 1996 killing of a teenager in New York City, and the conviction of a local man, Richard Rosario, despite Rosario having 13 witnesses placing him in another state at the time of the murder. The series is an ideal binge listen; episodes are typically just 15 to 20 minutes long. But it doesn't feel lightweight, packed as it is with interviews with Rosario, legal experts and detectives that help explain how so much exculpatory evidence was dismissed. There are also insights into systemic failures -- the prosecution case leaned heavily on a witness who identified Rosario in a police lineup, a method that has come under intense scrutiny in recent years thanks to the potential for false positives. Starter episode: "Behind Bars" 3. 'Bone Valley' The phrase "it's always the husband" has become a mantra among true crime fans, referring to the fact that women are statistically most likely to be killed by a current or former partner. But this kind of confirmation bias can have devastating consequences if it's given too much sway in a criminal investigation, as this immersive and moving podcast demonstrates. In 1987, Leo Schofield was charged with murder in the stabbing death of his wife, Michelle, 18, whose body was found in a drainage canal in Central Florida. Despite a lack of physical evidence, he was convicted and spent 36 years in prison. Even after Jeremy Scott repeatedly confessed to the crime, and his fingerprints were matched to a set found in Michelle's abandoned car, Schofield remained behind bars, and now, although he's out on parole, his conviction remains intact. The two seasons of "Bone Valley," however, are more about forgiveness and redemption than anger, exploring not just Schofield's tireless fight to prove his innocence, but his startlingly nuanced relationship with Scott. Starter episode: "God Help Us" 4. 'Wrongly Accused: The Annette Hewins Story' Many podcasts about wrongful convictions offer some comfort: The wrongly accused person actually gets a voice in the narrative (literally), and in the best-case scenario receives justice (if belatedly). That's not the case in this emotionally charged series from BBC Sounds, in which the accused in the title lost her life to a wrongful conviction. In 1995, Annette Hewins, then 31, was convicted of setting a fire that killed a mother and her two daughters in Wales. By the time her conviction was thrown out four years later, the damage had been done. "Wrongly Accused" is movingly narrated by Hewins' now adult daughter Nicole, who recounts the extensive trauma inflicted on their family, Annette's descent into substance use and mental illness after her trial, and the ways in which class dynamics and systemic failures contributed to a tragically mishandled investigation. Starter episode: "Her Story Must Be Heard" 5. 'In The Dark: Season 2' The first season of this American Public Media podcast, which delved into the haunting story of the 1989 disappearance of 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling, was a tough act to follow -- not least because its release coincided with the case finally being solved. Madeleine Baran, an investigative journalist, and her team wisely veered away from another cold case in the second season, instead delving into the equally disturbing story of Curtis Flowers, a Black man put on trial six times by a Mississippi prosecutor for the same quadruple homicide. Baran unpacks how such a wildly flawed case was repeatedly retried, even after numerous mistrials and overturned convictions. Starter episode: "July 16, 1996" This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Scroll.in
10 hours ago
- Scroll.in
‘A Glimpse of My Life' by Ram Prasad Bismil: A moving autobiography of a young revolutionary
Ram Prasad Bismil's life was devoid of any glory or achievement. He was an idealist who dreamt of freeing his country from the British. He sincerely believed that through acts of violence and killing, they would strike terror in the hearts of the British bureaucracy. That their acts of courage and sacrifice would also inspire the youth of the country to take up cudgels against the British. His was a brief life, which was tragically cut short in 1927 when, at the age of 30, he was hanged for his involvement in the Kakori dacoity case. The moment of his death would have been a moment of both satisfaction and dejection for him. He would have been gratified for having made the supreme sacrifice of his life for a cause that was so dear to him. But he was also much less than certain whether his sacrifice had brought the cause of India's freedom any closer to fulfilment. Such was his lot, and of many others of his generation who thought and believed like him. The importance of Bismil's life lies not so much in what he achieved but in his ideals and the sincerity with which he pursued them. When in jail, Bismil started writing about his life on scattered scraps of paper that were available to him. They were surreptitiously smuggled out and printed after Bismil was hanged. These have now been translated admirably and competently into English by Awadhesh Tripathi as A Glimpse of My Life, thus making them accessible to a wider readership. A life of revolt Bismil lived during the first three decades of the 20th century, when the ideas of anti-imperialist Indian nationalism had begun to break out of the ivory towers of Indian politics, located in the metropolitan cities, and had spread out to small cities and towns. Stories of the Swadeshi movement had begun to reach people through newspapers. Ideas of Indian nationalism were being transmitted to remote areas and, in the process, getting transformed. People's experiences of discontent with British rule were now finding a new articulation. It was in this climate that Bismil grew as a young teenager in Shahjahanpur, a small city in UP. Quite unlike many other nationalist leaders, Bismil grew up in a completely locked and insular zone, where he had no exposure to modern ideas of liberalism and secularism. His social environment was remarkably devoid of broad external influences. The one major source of inspiration for him was the Arya Samaj. Very early in his life, Bismil transcended the narrow world of self-interest and aspired to a life of service to larger causes. This major shift was informed by three major influences: traditions and family socialisation, anti-imperialist nationalism that had reached the interiors of Indian society, and the Arya Samaj. These influences created a personality that was both unique and complex. His personal life was deeply conservative, in which he nurtured ideas of austerity and celibacy. He attached great value to Brahmacharya, which to him was the fountainhead of all virtues. As he grew older and came under the influence of Arya Samaj, he worked towards Shuddhi, a purificatory movement geared towards re-converting Muslims back to Hinduism. The Shuddhi movement was generally anti-Muslim and ridden with communal overtones. But his involvement with Shuddhi did not come in the way of a deep emotional bonding with Ashfaqullah Khan, his fellow revolutionary who was involved in the Kakori train dacoity and eventually hanged along with him. His memoirs are full of very fond and moving references to his soulmate Ashfaqullah Khan, and through him, to the supreme necessity of Hindu-Muslim unity. Bismil's social universe was very Gandhian, even though he did not come directly under Gandhi's influence and may not have been aware of it. It is also possible that his social ideas were inspired by sources other than Gandhi. But the Gandhian stamp on his social ideas is quite unmistakable. Bismil's idea of a viable economy was that of a decentralised village economy, in which villages would be able to sustain themselves without depending on outside forces for their needs. Also, he wanted villagers to grow as 'true khadi-wearing, swadeshi patriots' who would read and write and 'subscribe to newspapers so that they keep themselves informed of what is happening in the country'. This sounds so remarkably similar to Gandhi's imagination of an ideal Indian village. However, his political universe could not have been more distant from Gandhi's. Bismil's political world was marked by guns, bombs, and killing. The politics of underground violence required money. Therefore, a train carrying the government treasury had to be looted. It was for this offence that he was caught and hanged. For most of his life, he was convinced that these acts of violence would strike terror in the British officials and bureaucrats and would thus help to liberate the country. However, such politics had its pitfalls. There was just no support, financial or political, from society. The extremely efficient intelligence network of the British enabled them to catch all those involved in the Kakori dacoity. Some of the efficiency of the British network stemmed from the fact that a number of Indians were ready to collaborate with the government and provide information about the revolutionaries. Often, factional fights among them let out their secrets. Many practitioners of underground violence turned approvers after being arrested. Both the factors – fear of torture by the police and the incentives offered – were at work. This was the inevitable fate of all such clandestine, secretly held, underground violent activities. Quite often, common people were also suspicious of them. Bismil was aware of these pitfalls, yet remained committed to the politics of underground violence till a few months before the end of his life. His personal, social, and political trajectories flowed in very different directions. One was not a derivative of the other and existed quite independently of the other. On death row After Bismil was arrested, he was found guilty and given a death sentence. The two moments – awareness of the impending death and the actual death – were separated by three months. Bismil spent these three months in deep introspection. His last note in the memoirs is just three days before the hanging. It was during this period that he began to question the efficacy of violent methods. He realised that the route to effective politics lay through educating and mobilising the masses and not through violence and killing: '… if we had directed our efforts towards educating the masses and spreading awareness among them, our actions might have been more successful and more lasting'. The following were his thoughts during the last moments of his life: 'I am now convinced that no revolutionary organisation can be successful in India … as the conditions are not conducive for revolution. That is why it is foolish to attract the country's youth to revolutionary work and ruin their lives in the process. It is likely to do more harm than good. My final message to the youth is that they should choose to serve the nation sincerely instead of entertaining the romantic idea of using revolvers or pistols'. Bismil's short life of 30 years was rich, unique, and in keeping with the highest ethical standards. When in jail, there were moments of opportunity for him in which he could have escaped. But he chose not to escape as it would have put the careers of the policemen at risk of removal. He lived his life selflessly and acted out his ideological commitments. His memoirs give us an ample reflection of his life and ideas. Awadhesh Tripathi has done well to make this world available to readers of the English language. Salil Misra is a visiting faculty member at the BM Munjal University, Manesar.
Hindustan Times
15 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Bhima Koregaon commission gets 18th extension
The Maharashtra government has granted an 18th extension to the Bhima Koregaon Commission of Inquiry, which was constituted to investigate the violence that broke out in Pune on January 1, 2018. The unrest occurred near Jai Stambh, a war memorial erected by the British in 1821 to commemorate their victory over the Peshwas. (HT FILE) The latest extension was granted via an order dated July 30 by Chetan Nikam, deputy secretary in the home department, who allowed the panel time until October 31, 2025 to complete its work. The order notes that the previous extension was valid till July 31, 2025, but with more witnesses yet to depose, the commission had requested three additional months. The state government, after deliberation, approved the request and directed the commission to complete all pending depositions and submit its final report by the new deadline. VV Palnitkar, commission secretary, said, 'The commission has been directed to submit the final report by October 31.' So far, the panel has recorded statements from at least 53 witnesses, including political figures such as Sharad Pawar and Prakash Ambedkar, as well as residents of Bhima Koregaon and Vadhu Budruk. The violence on January 1, 2018, had left one person dead and several injured, prompting the state to form the inquiry commission on February 9, 2018, under retired Justice JN Patel and former chief secretary Sumit Mullick. The unrest occurred near Jai Stambh, a war memorial erected by the British in 1821 to commemorate their victory over the Peshwas. As per Dalit accounts, a British force comprising 500 Mahar soldiers had defeated the Peshwa army of 25,000, a symbolic event seen by Dalits as a historic stand against caste oppression.
