SSC students miss exam due to demolition drive

Updated on: Thursday, March 10, 2011

When your house is broken down at 9 am, it’s mighty hard to concentrate on the SSC exam to be held at 11 the same morning. This was the predicament of about a dozen children from the Sangam Nagar slum, Wadala, as bulldozers ripped apart their homes.

Several children were injured, like Shehnaz Shaikh (12), who was hit by a policeman’s lathi. She fell on a stone slab and lost two teeth. Mohammad Raza (6) developed high fever after being hit on the head. His one-year old brother was injured when a bamboo holding up their shanty fell on him. Aftar Khan and his cousin Aarif, both minors, had scars on the back after being lathi-charged on their way back from school.

Atif Shaikh and Dildar Ansari, both in class X, missed their board paper. While they plan to appear for the remaining papers, they rue the fact that they will lose out on a year. “Padhai bekar ho gayi,” said Atif, crestfallen. While his father is a farmer in Uttarakhand, Dildar’s father is a taxi driver in Lucknow. Both boys were living with their aunts.

Those who appeared for the science paper said the experience was a nightmare as they found it difficult to concentrate. “I sent my son Abul Kalam and daughter Shehnaz to write their papers, though Shehnaz was feverish,’’ said Ikrar Khan, a single mother of seven who lost her home in the demolition. Urmila Chaurasia’s son Deepak lost some of his study material in the rubble but was made by his mother to appear for the test.

Though the slum dwellers had received a notice from the deputy collector (demolitions), Dharavi, when TOI contacted additional collector Ashok Shingare, he said the demolitions were not carried out by the collector’s office but were instead conducted by the salt commission, the logistics being provided by the BMC. This was confirmed by assistant commissioner for the F north ward, Sanjay Kurhade.

SSC students miss exam due to demolition drive

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