House of Rat-Hole Miner Involved in Silkyara Tunnel Rescue Operation Demolished in Delhi

Wakeel Hassan, one of the rate-hole miners of the Silkaya tunnel rescue operation team, said the demolition was undertaken without issuing any notice and his family has now been rendered homeless. The DDA claimed that prior intimation was given to all the occupants and the drive was taken to remove all the unauthorised structures in Khajoori Khas in Delhi.

New Delhi:The house of Wakeel Hassan, a rat-hole miner who was involved in the rescue operations to evacuate 41 workers trapped in Uttarkashi's Silkyara tunnel in November 2023, was razed by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) as part of an illegal structure demolition drive at Delhi's Khajoori Khas on Wednesday.

The DDA claimed that the drive was undertaken after giving prior intimation to the residents but Hassan's family alleged they did not get any notice informing about the demolition.

Hassan's advocate said that the person who had risked his own life to save 41 people has now been rendered homeless along with his children. "When rat-miners were being praised for rescuing the workers, Hassan had requested government for a house for his family. The government not only failed to provide him a house but pulled down the structure where he was living with his family," the advocate said adding that there is no place where Hassan can take his family.

According to Hassan, there were only children in the house when it was demolished yesterday. He said that his 15-year-old daughter got injured in the process. He also said that the DDA team did not give him any notice and although his family requested not to raze the house, they did not stop. Everything was thrown out of the house during the demotion, he complained.

DDA in a statement said that the demolition drive was undertaken on February 28 to remove encroachments from a government land in Khajoori Khas village. It said that the drive was taken as there were many unauthorised structures and the plot was part of a planned development project.

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