Sanguna Dake, 50, has been on an indefinite hunger strike for eight days now, spending restless nights on a mattress on the cold footpath outside the office of the City Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) in Belapur. Once paddy farmers, the Dakes of Chinchpada village, one of ten villages in Raigad to be relocated to make way for the under-construction Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), are struggling to make sense of city life. Now living in a rented flat in Karanjade node of Navi Mumbai, one of Sanguna’s sons is driving an autorickshaw; the others are daily wagers. “The airport will be built for thousands of crores, and those of us who lost land and homes to the project have been paid Rs 3,000 per month as rent until our new homes can be built. Tell me, where will you get a house on rent for Rs 3,000 anywhere in Navi Mumbai?” Sanguna asks.
Distressed over the slow response to continuing disputes regarding their rehabilitation package, a couple of hundred residents of these villages have been on a sit-in agitation outside the office of CIDCO, the implementing agency for the new airport. Wednesday marked the completion of one month since their dharna began. On January 16, 13 men and women started a fast unto death, hoping to draw authorities’ attention. A couple of them took ill since, and on Wednesday seven were continuing the hunger strike.
Like Sanguna, many gave up their homes in 2018 and have been living in rented accommodation since. “I have four sons, all married and with children of their own. But five families are considered as one unit for rent, for compensation, for relocation — how do you expect five families to live in a one bedroom apartment?” Sanguna asks. Rents in Karanjade, where several dozen airport-affected families are now residing, hover in the range of Rs 6,000 for a one-bedroom apartment and Rs 8,000 for a two-bedroom.
24/01/20 Kavitha Iyer/Indian Express
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Distressed over the slow response to continuing disputes regarding their rehabilitation package, a couple of hundred residents of these villages have been on a sit-in agitation outside the office of CIDCO, the implementing agency for the new airport. Wednesday marked the completion of one month since their dharna began. On January 16, 13 men and women started a fast unto death, hoping to draw authorities’ attention. A couple of them took ill since, and on Wednesday seven were continuing the hunger strike.
Like Sanguna, many gave up their homes in 2018 and have been living in rented accommodation since. “I have four sons, all married and with children of their own. But five families are considered as one unit for rent, for compensation, for relocation — how do you expect five families to live in a one bedroom apartment?” Sanguna asks. Rents in Karanjade, where several dozen airport-affected families are now residing, hover in the range of Rs 6,000 for a one-bedroom apartment and Rs 8,000 for a two-bedroom.
24/01/20 Kavitha Iyer/Indian Express
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