Bandra slums demolition was decades overdue. But has Railways got the timing wrong?

"I have never liked the sight of slums right outside Bandra station. Nobody does. The area was filthy, crime was rampant, and it was common to see drug addicts on the foot overbridges despite the presence of the Government Railway Police (GRP). But watching school-going girls in their uniforms sitting on the road, barely metres away from the homes they grew up in, holding on to just a bag of belongings they could save, is a heartbreaking sight," said Devesh Kamble, a software engineer who commutes daily from Bandra East to Kalanagar. Read Full Story As he shared this experience with India Today Digital, bulldozers reduced homes to rubble in Mumbai's Garib Nagar slum outside Bandra station's eastern side. The ongoing demolition drive by Western Railway in Bandra East has cleared over 400 unauthorised structures, including homes and shops, on railway land hugging the tracks. The Bombay High Court backed the action to reclaim about 5,200-5,300 square metres for railway expansion, including new lines, better connectivity between Bandra Terminus and suburban stations, and support for projects like improved access to the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC). The land, long encroached upon, holds an estimated value of around Rs 600 crores. Though the anti-encroachment drive and cleanup were long overdue, the reality has two sides to it. The eviction drive will remove more than 400 unauthorised structures from Bandra East's Garib Nagar following an order by the Bombay High Court. (Image: PTI) SLUM DWELLERS LEFT WITHOUT A ROOF JUST AHEAD OF MONSOONS Garib Nagar, one of Mumbai's older and denser slum pockets, featured multi-storey structures. Many of them were two or three storeys high, built directly beside railway tracks. Residents and commuters have long described these areas as among the filthiest and dingiest in the city, with poor sanitation, waste dumping, safety hazards, and high crime. For decades, they blocked infrastructure upgrades and posed risks to train operations. Yet these slums housed thousands who form the backbone of Mumbai's workforce — daily wagers, service staff, and essential workers keeping the city running. Many had lived here for 40 years or more. "This slum, inhabited nearly two hundred years ago, now lies abandoned. Residents, along with their wives and children, sat in an open field, carrying household items, watching their homes collapse," social activist and journalist Siraj Noorani said in a post on X. Families pleaded with officials amid the rubble to not demolish the house, or at least let them take their household items out, only for the bulldozers to silence their pleadings. One viral video showed an elderly woman distressed over the rubble, saying she could not even retrieve a religious scripture from her house. A woman sits with her belongings during the demolition drive in Garib Nagar slum near Bandra East railway station. (Image: PTI) Officials arrived at the site in Garib Nagar on Tuesday (May 19) with heavy earthmovers and bulldozers, police, and RPF personnel, giving little time for residents to salvage belongings. Over 60% of the demolitions happened in a matter of just 48 hours. With thousands displaced right ahead of monsoon, the footage of belongings piled on roads is going viral now. The timing of Western Railway carrying out the eviction has sparked criticism. The southwest monsoon is expected to hit the Kerala coast around May 26 — nearly a week early — and reach Mumbai by early June. With rains just weeks away, displaced families are left without any shelter. Even as NGO workers distributed food and aid to those who lost even basic items like gas stoves, many questioned why squatters were being given food. "Illegal or legal, people are still people! Everyone's just trying to survive... You can care about laws and still have humanity. Those two things are not mutually exclusive!" a person said on X, denouncing the apathy that many people showed on social media. Many have questioned the suddenness of the demolition drive, and lack of broader support, especially as Eid approached for some families. The locality had a large population of Muslims. Mumbai Police keeps a vigil on the third day of an anti-encroachment drive at Garib Nagar slum, in Bandra East. (Image: PTI) THE ACTION WAS MUCH NEEDED FOR SAFETY AND DEVELOPMENT The eviction drive, however, was essential and fully legal. The land always belonged to the Railways, and encroachments grew over decades despite notices. "The Bandra East demolition drive is decades overdue. These slums weren't just simple huts; some were... concrete fire hazards built directly adjacent to active railway tracks," a person posted on X. Authorities and observers pointed to anti-social elements living in the slums after stone-pelting happened during the drive, which led to an FIR naming at least 10 people. PEOPLE RECALL HOW SUNIL DUTT SAVED THE SLUMS There has been a lot of chatter about the residents being "political vote banks" as well. Many res