New Delhi : The Central government has propped iron sheetings along throughfare in capital so the dignitaries and delegates arriving for G20 Summit are spared from seeing the dismal conditions in the country. Large planks of iron have been installed along roads of Noida that’s part of national capital, to mask shanties that flank the streets. This is apart from evacuating hundreds in that region for beautification works.
Slums have been curtained all way from Delhi’s international airport to area where guests accommodations are located. The makeshift walls have brought business to grinding halt for several small and big traders along the way.
The main slum cluster located in the heart of the city where summit is venued, was demolished early on. Structures that survived demolition were curtained with wide plastic sheetings and flex boards. Media is disallowed from taking pictures of slums here. Police forcibly deleted several images that media cameras captured.
The Concerned Citizens Collective in May had disclosed how the governments forcibly removed people from slums in Mumbai,Kolkaata, Nagpur, Indore and Udaipur where Working Group meetings were held in prelude to G20. At least a total of 3 lakh people were dislodged in this manner, tens of thousands from across five slum clusters of Delhi alone.
Settlements along Yamuna embankment, Tughlaqbad, Mehroli and Gyaspur were razed to the ground using bulldozers. Residents of Bella Estate on banks of Yamuna were served a mere three-hour notice period in which to leave their homes.
