The Musahar people, who have been living there for four generations, are about to be displaced as India upgrades the West Koshi Canal and expands the road.
What you should know
Concerns have been raised about the possibility of eviction among 17 poor Musahar families in Topa, Tilathi Koiladi Rural Municipality-8, Saptari, who are struggling to make ends meet due to the increasing cold wave, which has made it difficult for them to do wage work.
They are about to be displaced when India starts upgrading the Western Koshi Canal and expanding the road. They have been living on the banks of the canal for four generations and have been begging for help to prevent their houses from being destroyed during the cold wave.
Khattar Sada, 55, said that he has lost sleep over the concern that two bulldozers are coming towards the settlement at high speed from the east to upgrade the canal and expand the road. ‘They will demolish our house in 5/7 days, but then where will we go with our children during this cold wave?’ He said, ‘Despite repeated requests to the contractor, they are not ready to listen, they go to the ward office and tell the chairman that there is no option to save the house.’
He is worried that he will die or live because of the fear of becoming homeless because he cannot go out to work due to the cold wave and is forced to sleep on half a stomach.
52-year-old Sanjay Sada said that despite informing them three times to remove their house, they could not move it elsewhere because they did not have the means. ‘We have been living here since before the canal was built, but now they are trying to displace us in the name of upgrading the canal and expanding the road,’ he said, ‘Before demolishing our house, we should have had another arrangement.’
More than 100 Musahar community members in the settlement are worried that they will be evicted as the people’s representatives are not serious.
Ward Chairman Satyanarayan Yadav said that despite requesting not to demolish the houses of the poor and needy in Sheetlahar, no one has listened. ‘We have requested the contractor saying that they will face a lot of problems after demolishing the house, but they say they will do the work anyway,’ he said, ‘What can we tell the CDO sir, the notice regarding the removal of the house has been issued from there.’
Ward Chairman Yadav said that the ward is not in a position to immediately manage those needy families.
According to the Koshi Agreement signed on 12th Baisakh, 2011, 599 bighas, 18 kattas, 8 dhurs of land, including the canal, are under the control of India. Accordingly, the Office of the Executive Engineer of the Western Koshi Canal Division, Kunauli, located in Supaul, Bihar, has written to the District Administration Office on 2nd Mangsir stating that the canal and road should be expanded. The District Administration Office has also issued a notification on 2nd Mangsir, urging the local level and the concerned office to proceed with the work of removing encroachments around the canal promptly.
Although the District Administration has also directed the security agencies to facilitate the work of removing encroachments, it has not been able to confirm how many houses will be destroyed and how many families will be displaced in Sheetlahar. Chief District Officer Tubaraj Pokharel said that there has been information that some families will be displaced due to the canal upgrading and road expansion.
‘As soon as we received information about the displacement of some families, we have called the local level chiefs and stakeholders for discussions,’ he said. ‘We will try to find a solution through discussions, and I will tell you more.’
