After being told about the decision of administration to remove them from their houses, the residents decided to press for their demand of an alternate land site where they could construct houses for themselves. For this, they decided to hold a chain hunger strike till their demands were met.

Area Councillor Sunita Chaudhary said the administration should provide them land where they could construct their shelters. She said people, fearing they would be uprooted, have threatened to sit on fast unto death.

Many of the residents sitting on hunger strike said they had purchased plots some 10-12 years back and were now on the verge of being uprooted as administration decided to acquire their pieces of land. “We are going to oppose every such move of administration,” one of the residents said.

Srinivas Kala, a part of the group protesters, rued that the administration would go on to demolish houses where they are living for the past 15 years.