As Solan’s slums grow, the people there desire government action

People are worried about the growing number of shanties in Solan Town because they think the residents may not only spread dirt but also cause problems for law and order.

These improvised buildings may be observed in the Housing Board Colony next to a train track and at several locations along the Kather bypass.

Residents claim that in addition to doing menial tasks like rag picking, Jhuggi inhabitants also engage in the act of stealing everything they can get their hands on in the area.

About two years ago, the Solan Municipal Corporation forcefully destroyed many shanties from the vicinity of a gas pump near Shamti due to an increase in theft incidents involving public taps, wires, household belongings, etc. in the region.

Because there are no public facilities like power, water, or toilets in their region, residents claim that slum inhabitants have become a nuisance. They contaminate the environment by feces in the open. The locals said that their kids also engage in stealing and snatching, frightening others.

“Residents of the Housing Board Colony have been demanding the removal of the shanties that have come up near the railway track,” said Rajeev Kaura, the Housing Board ward councillor. Daily, their number grows as the train employees did not do a check. He stated that during their recent visit to the region, the railway authorities had been informed of the situation.

The shanties were gradually extending to other areas of the town; a number of them had appeared next to a restaurant on the Kather bypass.

Usha Sharma, the mayor of Solan Municipal Corporation, said that she has written to the district government to request that the shanties be removed since they are an annoyance.

She continued by saying that because the land had been encroached upon, the Deputy Commissioner had promised to bring the matter up with the railway officials.

On this railway route, two levels of a parking lot that is still under construction have been occupied by the slum-dwellers who have also put up jhuggis. Ten shanties are said to have appeared on one level. while they utilize the upper floor to relieve themselves. The Mayor said that the police had just removed them at the request of the municipal council after complaints from the community.