Latest news with #DurgaPrasad
Indian Express
04-08-2025
- Indian Express
Flanked by debris of razed homes, life goes on as usual at this migrant settlement spared in Chandola lake demolitions
It is 4.30pm. Shivlal, who goes by only one name, is manning his handcart that doubles up as a paan stall at the gates of Narsinhji Mandir Ni Chali in Ahmedabad. Inside, the modest housing society is milling about with people. There are stalls selling pani-puri and pakodas, autorickshaws parked, women washing clothes on slabs outside their homes, men standing in groups of three or four, chatting away in the afternoon. It may seem like a scene from any other locality but the moment one steps outside the gates of this settlement, a starkly different world opens up: Acres and acres of empty land, debris of what once used to be homes of thousands, children playing a game of cricket on a small patch. Narsinhji Mandir Ni Chali (or Society of the Narsinhji Temple) is situated in Chandola lake – the same area that witnessed large-scale demolitions in May when the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) and the city police razed more than 12,500 residential, commercial and religious structures that were allegedly encroaching upon 4 lakh square metres of the total 11 lakh square metres area of the water body. This chali, a small peninsula jutting into a dried up area of the lake, was spared. Reason: This piece of land appeared in AMC's records as a private survey number, attesting its legal status. Home to migrants from Uttar Pradesh Recalling the days of the demolition, Durga Prasad from Chitrakoot in Uttar Pradesh told The Indian Express, 'We were scared when the demolitions began… They (AMC) reached our chali within 30 minutes of arriving here. Fortunately, the officials knew that this is private property. It was only after they went ahead that we heaved a sigh of relief.' The chali is home to around 550 migrant workers from the Hindi heartland of UP, who have settled here over the years. 'Everyone who stays here is from UP. I have been living here for the last 35 years,' says Durga Prasad, a resident. Barely a few metres from the chali, a man is seen lying on a cot, covered with a worn-out blanket, wheezing and coughing in his sleep. His wife sits under a makeshift awning made up of parts of billboards while a toddler struts about. This family was among the thousands who were evicted in May. The woman told The Indian Express, 'My husband, who used to work as a labourer, hasn't been able to do anything after being diagnosed with TB. We have four daughters and our relatives were kind enough to take them into their homes but we cannot go and live there. So, we came back here. Some people come and give us food. We have nowhere to go.' Inside the chali, its gates bearing the name of the local MLA and two councillors, there are around 70 houses, mostly occupied by young men selling pani-puri or paan, driving auto-rickshaws, or working as drivers on hire for taxi companies. Yellow fences erected by the civic body have come up on both sides of this gate, parting it from the razed walls, destroyed doors and torn shutters of shops strewn all around. The former occupants of this area claimed they had been living there for decades before Chandola lake came into focus in the Pahalgam attack aftermath – first when hundreds were picked on suspicion of being illegal migrants from Bangladesh and then, when the anti-encroachment drive was carried out in two phases. The area is now being fenced up for the 'Chandola Lakefront development project'. Inside the chali, the most prominent structure is a colourful temple dedicated to Narsinhji from where the society derives its name. Trustees claim this temple is more than 100 years old. A stone inscription dates it to Samvat 1951, which would translate to 1859 CE on the Gregorian Calendar. A couple of other temples also dot the premises, including one dedicated to Lord Shiva, another to Lord Hanuman and one to Lord Padmanabha. Another temple belongs to the Kuldev (clan deity) of the trustees, who are from the Prajapati community. Opposite the main temple is an underground cave that, according to the residents, used to be the home of the presiding priest (pandit) of the temple in the past. The present priest, though, lives in a pucca house next to the temple. Another striking structure here is a white tower, approximately two stories tall, which looks like it has seen better days. When asked why this society was not demolished, sources at the AMC said, 'When we were carrying out the demolitions, our attention was drawn to the fact that this piece of land is a private survey number. The same was seen in documents from the Ahmedabad Collectorate when they handed us possession of the land in and around Chandola lake.' A senior AMC official involved in the demolition process, though, said he 'was shocked that this land occupied by so many houses and temples and jutting into the lake bed, was classified as private property.' Deputy Municipal Commissioner of the South Zone, BC Parmar, told The Indian Express: 'Narsinhji Mandir Ni Chali with the temple inside is registered as private property in the TP (town planning) scheme, which we received from the Collectorate. We are looking into the current ownership of the land.' The Indian Express also reached out to the Ahmedabad Collectorate regarding the ownership of the land but did not receive any response at the time of going to print. Chetan Swami, one of the trustees of the Narshinhji temple, claimed the temple has been with his family for generations. 'The temple and land is passed down from generation to generation to the eldest brother in the family. The current head of the trust is my brother Harshad K Swami. We are four brothers and all are trustees. In fact, I am also a trustee of the Narsinhji temple in Patan district,' said Swami, who lives in another part of the city and owns an automotive spare parts shop. He says he visits the chali everyday to pay obeisance to the deity. The residents of this locality pay a modest rent of Rs 50-Rs 80, which is used in renovation and repair of the temple. Tale of two festivals When asked how the temple premises turned into a residential colony, Swami said, 'Around 50 years ago, the entire area was open. But after the riots that time, people who used to stay here as caretakers of the temple started feeling unsafe and brought over their UP-based relatives to stay and work here. Slowly, the community grew. In fact, there is an annual festival celebrated here where devotees from Bhanderi Pol arrive with a palki on Kartik Sood Chaudas.' Another festival was marked a few days ago, not very far from this chali. A number of families of the Devipujak community, who lived about 2 km from the chali, had returned to the site of their demolished homes to install statues of the deity Dashama for her 10-day rituals of fasting and prayer. They immersed the statues in the Sabarmati river on Sunday before going back to their rented accommodations. As the pani-puri vendors from the chali prepared to leave for another evening of business, a 60-year-old, Abdullah Muttalim, sat in the back seat of a weathered auto-rickshaw with a bag full of tobacco products and cigarettes. Having lost his home and shop during the demolitions, Muttalim now lives at his son's rented home in the Vatva area of the city. In an attempt to contribute to the household income, he has returned to the site of his demolished shop where his loyal customers instantly recognised him. 'I came here from Khambhat (Anand) when I was only a boy. My father fled in wake of the wave of Tuberculosis and Silicosis that affected Akik (jade) workers there. I grew up here but now that my shop is gone, I come here and sit in the hope that my old customers will still buy from me. It is my way of putting some money into the household,' said Muttalim. There is another reason. 'My son has filled out the form to get us alternate housing that the AMC has been offering to the evictees. We have to pay more than Rs 3 lakh for allotment. So, every penny counts.'
Hindustan Times
07-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
Man held in Bahraich for kidnapping, raping minors
The key accused in a series of kidnapping and rape cases involving minor girls was arrested here in a joint operation by Sujauli Police, SWAT, and surveillance teams. Avinash Pandey alias Simple, 32, a resident of Sujauli, has been booked under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, police said on Monday. Five teams led by additional SP (Rural) Durga Prasad were formed for investigation. (Sourced) Superintendent of police (SP) RN Singh said four FIRs were filed on June 25, June 28, July 3, and July 7 after complaints from families whose daughters had gone missing from nearby villages. Initially registered against unknown persons, the cases involved sections 137(2), 65(2), and 115(2) of the BNS, and sections 5(M)/6 of the POCSO Act. Five teams led by additional SP (Rural) Durga Prasad were formed for investigation. All the missing girls were traced within hours of each complaint and were provided with medical support and counselling, an official said. 'Based on survivor accounts and on-ground clues, police developed a profile of the suspect. CCTV footage, mobile tower data, and local informer inputs were used to narrow down leads.' The investigation took a decisive turn after police received inputs about a suspicious person near Sitaram Puliya in Bajpur Bankati under Sujauli Police Station limits. Teams acted swiftly and detained Avinash Pandey, who matched the suspect description. During interrogation, Pandey confessed to luring minor girls with chocolates and snacks before taking them to secluded forest patches where he sexually assaulted them. His mobile phone contained objectionable photos and videos of the victims, and the survivors later identified him. His bicycle and mobile phone were seized as evidence. Pandey was presented before a magistrate and sent to judicial custody.
Hans India
01-07-2025
- Hans India
Police receive petitions on land disputes, family rows
Ongole: The Prakasam district SP, AR Damodar assured the public that the district police would be at the forefront in resolving their issues. The Prakasam district police organised the Public Grievance Redressal System programme at the district police office, along with the other police stations in the district, on Monday. In the PGRS programme held at the district police office, the SP received 83 grievances from the public from various places in the district. He interacted with the complainants, learned about their issues, and assured them that justice would be done for the victims. He spoke to the local police officers through the video conference in front of the complainants and ordered them to update him on the action taken on the urges from time to time. In the 83 urges received by the police, the authorities observed that most of them are for the resolution of disputes and differences between family members and domestic violence, cheating in the name of jobs, and to bring consensus between parties on the borders and distribution of land and assets. The SC/ST cell inspector Durga Prasad, DTC inspector Shamimulla, traffic inspector Panduranga Rao, PGRS SI Janardhana Rao, and other staff participated in the PGRS programme.
Time of India
12-06-2025
- Time of India
2 boys drown in abandoned quarry
Hyderabad: An 11-year-old boy from Kapra and his eight-year-old cousin from Guntur, who went missing on Wednesday from Arundhati Nagar in Jawaharnagar, were found dead in a water-filled abandoned quarry nearby on Wednesday. Police suspect the boys drowned while playing in the water. Both did not know swimming. Durga Prasad (11) was a class III student and Subramanyam (8) was in class I. About a month ago, Durga Prasad's mother Swathi, who was abandoned by her husband, had come to live with her ailing aunt Yadamma in Arundhati Nagar Colony. A few days ago, Yadamma's daughter Anjamma, who lives in Guntur, came to visit her mother along with son Subramanyam. At around 10 am on Wednesday, Durga Prasad and Subramanyam had left home to play in the neighbourhood but did not return. After unsuccessfully searching for them in the neighbourhood, Swathi lodged a complaint with Jawaharnagar police on Thursday morning. While police were searching for the boys, their bodies surfaced in the abandoned Bandabavi quarry located in Arundhati Nagar Colony. "The quarry was abandoned about two decades ago. Half of its boundary has been fenced. The boys were not locals and they might have accidentally drowned while trying to play in the water," SI B Ramu said. The bodies have been sent for postmortem. Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
Time of India
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Coffee farmers association accuse forest dept of land grabbing
Madikeri : The Karnataka Coffee Farmers' Association accused the forest department of grabbing land from residents, which was granted to villagers many years ago. Association president Dr Durga Prasad said the farmers stopped the forest department staff from going to Kalkandur village in Somwarpet to conduct a survey of the land. This was in connection with the process of acquiring the land that was in the hands of farmers for many years for the forest. Speaking at a meeting called at the association's office in Virajpet town, he said, "We support this struggle." Before Independence, 7,500 acres of forest land was leased to private individuals. Coffee, rubber, and tea plantations were established in that area, he said, asking for a comprehensive survey of the Paisari lands in Kodagu. The Kodagu district administration should prepare a list of encroachers, he suggested. Vasant Kumar Hosamane of the district unit of the Karnataka Coffee Farmers ' Association, Hamid, district member of the farmers' association, and other members were present.
