Tuesday, 20 July 2021 | PNS | Dehradun
Despite the risk to lives and property to people living in slums established near Rispana and Bindal rivers every year during the monsoon and the environmental damage caused by such encroachments, successive governments have failed to take concrete measures to permanently rehabilitate the slum dwellers. Though many areas in Dehradun suffer during monsoon due to poor drainage systems, security risk becomes higher for slum dwellers living alongside the Rispana and Bindal rivers during the rains.
The streams of these rivers remain dry throughout the year but swell during the monsoon and make thousands of families vulnerable to the damage of lives and property. Most of these slum dwellers have illegally encroached on the areas near these rivers and many have even constructed pucca houses with proper electricity and water connections facilitated by public representatives. Experts opine that for the betterment of these rivers as well as the families living alongside them, the government should make proper policies to permanently rehabilitate these slum dwellers in safer areas. However, every political party that is elected to office fails to take any decision for the fear of losing its vote bank rather than considering the welfare of slum dwellers.
According to the experts, the State government passed an ordinance in 2018 to provide three years of temporary relief to slum dwellers and is now planning to extend the same this year rather than providing a permanent solution to slum dwellers after Uttarakhand High Court directed the authorities to remove unauthorised encroachments. According to social activist and founder of Social Development for Communities (SDC) Foundation, Anoop Nautiyal, the government should make a policy for the welfare of the slum dwellers and ensure its execution at ground level rather than extending the ordinance as the situation is worsening in the city year after year. Dehradun based activist Lokesh Ohri also stated that slum dwellers living alongside these rivers must be shifted to permanent secure places which will resolve multiple issues in the city. Besides ensuring the safety of slum dwellers during monsoon, it will also help in the revival of these rivers, said Ohri. According to him, the situation will keep worsening with time and if the authorities do not take any decision regarding this matter soon, the day might come when nature will show its wrath that will cause heavy loss to lives and property here.
