IMPHAL, Oct 1 NNN: Joining hands in marking “World Habitat Day” across the globe, the Human Rights Alert for the first time observed the day here today at Manipur Press Club.
Ksh. Onil, Campaigner of Human Rights Alert stated that “World Habitat Day” observation was started from 1978 under the initiative of United Nations Habitat for the people who have evicted from their houses in the name of giving compensation and resettlement and added that the day is being observed in more than 11 countries since then.
” The Human Rights Alert has been demanding to the concerned authorities to pass the bill of Land Acquisation and Resettlement Bill, 2002 and to address the woes of the people effected by eviction.
In Manipur itself there are around 4000 victims of eviction”, he added. Maibam Nganbi, a widow of Lamphel Yaipha Leikai whose house had been evicted on June 16, 2011 said that she is still to get any compensation and resettlement facilities from the government even though 1 year have been passed. We have been living in the area from the last 40 years but the government without giving prior notice evicted from our houses along with 14 families from the locality, she rued.Recalling another incident, V.S. Meena, Chairperson of Naga River Colony Women Society said families from the region was forced to evict despite of stiff opposition from the people in the name of building a five star hotel in the colony saying that they have been living in the area peacefully from the last 40 years along with 10 different communities.During the function, an 11 minute documentary film entitled “People Before Profit”, a film based on the issues of development driven eviction in different countries produced by WITNESS, a New York based organisation in collaboration with Human Rights Alert and partners was also released to mark the observation.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/world-habitat-day-observed/
