Scorched & Uprooted: Raj Nagar Slums Razed In Soaring Mercury

Nagpur: Under the blistering April sun, a young mother cradled her newborn on a footpath across the National Fire Service College (NFSC), trying to shield the infant from the scorching heat. Around her lay household items hastily gathered — utensils, blankets, bags — all that remained of the shanty she called home until Wednesday morning.
Thirty such families in Raj Nagar were rendered homeless after the Nagpur Municipal Corporation's anti-encroachment department, in coordination with the city police, launched an eviction drive. The 30 shanties stood on land officially allocated to the NFSC, near the road that connects Police Line Lake T-point to Nelson Square. Despite notices being served earlier, many stayed put, hoping for relief.
The drive, carried out using four JCBs and tippers, flattened decades of hope in mere hours. "We were told that the guardian minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule would help us get rehabilitation. Some of us even met him," said a resident who watched as her shelter was razed to the ground.
However, after the affected citizens appealed to Bawankule, the operation was halted at around 4pm. By then, the enforcement team had already removed 30 encroachments. The administration had been attempting to take action regarding the Raj Nagar slum within the NFSC premises for a long time. Approximately 500 residents from 83 families live there.
Officials from the collectorate clarified the land in question does not belong to Nazul department and is meant exclusively for NFSC use. "Since it's not Nazul land, we cannot assure in-situ rehabilitation. But we will request NMC to explore options under govt schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana," said a senior official.
Raj Nagar's slum first came up decades ago. A major eviction was carried out earlier when the NFSC campus was being established. But over time, more encroachments mushroomed — just across the college's main entrance and along its boundary wall — becoming a settlement for dozens of families with nowhere else to go. The drive was stopped at around 4 pm, after a phone call came to the ground zero officials. According to officials, the fate of the remaining ones is not clear now as to whose call stalled the demolition drive.
The central public works department on late Wednesday fenced the area to prevent them from further encroachment.
The situation was no different in Dighori's Sangharsh Nagar, where 17 tin-shed shops illegally occupying the roadside were also demolished. The Raj Nagar drive was conducted under the leadership of Mangalwari zone deputy commissioner Ashok Garate and assistant commissioner of the enforcement department Harish Raut and superintendent Sanjay Kamble monitored both the drives Raj Nagar and Sangarsh Nagar.
The timing of the drive has drawn criticism. Temperatures in Nagpur have been hovering above 40 degrees C, making survival on open footpaths almost unbearable. With no immediate rehabilitation or shelters provided, children and elderly residents have been left exposed to the elements.