New Delhi: Tunnel rescue hero's house demolished; DDA's offer rejected

New Delhi : Hours after razing his house in a demolition drive in Delhi, the DDA offered to move Wakeel Hassan, a rat-hole miner who was part of the Silkyara tunnel rescue operation, and his family to a temporary accommodation but he declined the offer, officials said on Thursday. Speaking to PTI, Hassan said Delhi Development Authority (DDA) officials told him that he would be temporarily accommodated in a guest house in Vasant Kunj and would soon be provided a house in the Govindpuri area, but he refused the offer as it was only a "verbal assurance".

This comes a day after Hassan alleged that the DDA razed his house in Delhi's Khajoori Khas on Wednesday without prior notice to him. Hassan and his family spent the night outside following the demolition drive. Standing by its action, the DDA later in a statement said that "in its role as an authority, it cannot allow encroachment on its land or unauthorised constructions in its development areas".

The DDA also said Hassan was aware of his house's “status of encroachment” as it had been previously removed in 2016 and was encroached upon again in 2017. Asserting that it was a "routine encroachment removal drive", the DDA said Wednesday's action did not “target any particular individual". Having come to know about the contributions of Hassan in the rescue operation in Uttarakhand, the DDA "extended its hand of support" to the family but it was refused, the DDA said in a statement.

The urban body, however, clarified that "at no point of time before or during the demolition exercise, were the DDA officials aware of Hassan's role in the rescue operation in Uttarakhand. On Wednesday, the DDA said the demolition drive was carried out on land that was "part of planned development land". Some TV channels showed Hassan and his family sitting and having dinner amid the rubble of what used to be their home. He spent the night on the street with his wife and two children near the spot where their house stood. The AAP on Thursday demanded that all those people whose houses have been demolished by central agencies in the last one year be provided houses under the PM Awas Yojana.

Northeast Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari on Thursday said the now-demolished house of Wakeel Hassan, who was part of the Silkyara tunnel rescue operation, had some "legal issues" and assured the miner that he will be given a house under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana very soon.