A man sleeps on a wooden plank amid the rubble of his demolished home near Chandola pond in Ahmedabad. Over 7,000 houses were torn down, leaving thousands of mostly Muslim families homeless after an anti-encroachment drive by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. Photo: Meer Faisal/The Observer Post

By Meer Faisal

In a demolition drive by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), over 7,000 homes were torn down near Chandola Talab, displacing thousands of families and shattering their lives and livelihoods. The demolition, covering an area of more than 2.5 lakh square meters, began on Tuesday following a ruling by the Gujarat High Court that upheld state orders to clear structures deemed illegal on government land.

The High Court’s decision came after authorities insisted the water body near which these homes stood is government-owned, and all the houses built on its periphery were illegal encroachments. The demolitions began on April 28, with over 4,000 shanties dismantled in the areas of Siyasatnagar and Bengali Vaas, home primarily to Muslim families who work as labourers, rag pickers, and migrant workers from Bengal and Rajasthan.

Rafi, a longtime resident of the area, described the trauma and confusion of the demolition. “I have lived here all my life. My parents helped build this community. Suddenly, they just broke everything without proper notice. They said they are removing ‘Bangladeshis’ and illegal settlers. But what about the rest of us? We thought we would get alternative housing because we were told so,” he said.

A boy walks through the rubble after the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation demolished over 7,000 homes near Chandola Talab, leaving thousands homeless and struggling to find shelter. Photo: Meer Faisal/The Observer Post

Rafi said that the AMC officials had told residents they would be rehoused but later demanded hefty deposits of ₹3,00,000 to ₹3,50,000 to secure new homes. “How can a poor person pay so much? We live hand-to-mouth,” he said, describing his family of five—himself, his wife, parents, and children.

More than 1,000 families, including many Muslims, find themselves homeless, with rent prices skyrocketing beyond their means. Rafi said, “We had about 500 to 1,000 houses here. We lived here for 40 years. My mother came here after marriage, and the government never asked us for papers. They should have regularized our homes instead of bulldozing them without warning.”

The decision to demolish these homes was influenced by the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack earlier this year. Authorities alleged that many in the settlement were “Bangladeshi infiltrators,” leading to widespread crackdowns and the detention of over 6,500 people for citizenship verification. Despite this, many detained—including women and children—were later found to be Indian citizens and released.

This story was originally published in theobserverpost.com. Read the full story here.