Jaipur: Jaipur Development Authority (JDA)’s road widening drive, involving demolition of houses and shops, left at least 20 families homeless along the Lt Gen Sagat Singh Marg near Khatipura Sunday. Among the affected is the family of Jagdish Narayan Sharma, a long-time Akashvani (All India Radio) performer in Jaipur. The septuagenarian suffered a cardiac arrest last week and remains hospitalised. His relatives now face uncertainty about where to accommodate him once he is released from hospital.“Sharma lost his elder son – Yogesh – last Nov. His elder son’s wife and younger son, Dinesh, have moved to Jagdishji Temple in the Walled City area since Sunday evening. They are somehow staying there on the corridor of the temple. We are not sure about where to accommodate Sharma once he is discharged. The state govt should have shown a more humanitarian gesture before demolishing the entire house,” said Subham Sharma, nephew of Jagdish Sharma.Other affected families have also moved to relatives’ homes within the city or found temporary refuge in school buildings or other places nearby. All remain in search of an alternative accommodation and await govt intervention to relieve their plight. “I had just turned my house three-storied and renovated the shop, but, Sunday, JDA had demolished the entire building. My family of six were entirely dependent on this shop. We spent the Sunday night at a local school,” said Yadukul Bhushan.The demolition drive on the Sirsi Road adversely affected encroachers and turned their lives upside down. “Around 20 families fall in the last category as they are now having a tough time to cope with the situation. Development is important but not at cost of evicting citizens from their houses,” said Suresh Kumar Mitharwal, advocate for the locals, whose own property was demolished during the drive.
