Shopkeepers Raise Rehabilitation Concerns
Jamshedpur: An anti-encroachment drive will be carried out on February 19 (Thursday) along the road from Tatanagar Railway Station to Kitadih. The Railways have already made announcements in the area through loudspeakers. Meanwhile, several shopkeepers have started removing their shops on their own.
Shopkeepers say they are complying with the High Court’s order, but allege that the Railways is not fully adhering to the directions issued by the Jharkhand High Court. Notably, on January 22, the High Court had ordered that shopkeepers settled for years along the roadside from Station Chowk towards Kitadih be given one month. The court had also directed the Railways to identify and announce alternative sites for the rehabilitation of the displaced shopkeepers within 42 days. However, no alternative site has been announced so far.
Preparations to remove encroachments in the Kitadih and Golpahari areas were already underway as part of the railway station expansion plan. With the court’s deadline now over, the action is expected to intensify.
For now, all eyes are on the next steps of the shopkeepers and the railway administration. Shopkeepers have said that if proper rehabilitation arrangements are not made in time, they will have no option but to approach the Supreme Court.
