Civic officials dump homeless outside 'clean' Indore, videos go viral
Indore, judged as the cleanest city by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for four straight years, garnered attention for poor reasons when videos of civic officials dumping homeless elderly at the city's outskirts surfaced on Friday. The clips showed destitute people, presumably picked from within the Madhya Pradesh city, being treated inhumanely. After outrage, action was taken against officials. Here's what happened.
Elderly, along with their belongings, were left on road
Multiple videos found their way on social media yesterday. In at least two clips, Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) officials were seen dumping the elderly at Kishpra, which falls outside the city's limits. The officials also threw whatever little items the poor had on the road. In another video, locals were seen opposing the move. The fact that their actions were filmed left officials unnerved.
Here is a video from the spot
After locals objected, civic officials took them away
It was only after the locals protested that the civic officials put the elderly on the same yellow truck, that was used for transporting them. One clip showed locals helping a woman, who could barely sit straight, get on the truck. The vehicle reportedly belonged to the encroachment removal department. After lugging the poor back on the vehicle, the officials left.
Watch: Locals spoke against the barbaric act
Civic officials working on BJP's ideology, claimed Congress spokesperson
Subsequently targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led state government, Congress spokesperson Narendra Saluja opined civic officials were merely following the saffron party's path. "Now what should the poor officials do...they are working according to the ideology of the BJP? As the BJP left many elderly leaders...like Advaniji, Joshiji, Yashwant Sinha, (sic)" Saluja wrote on Twitter. Congress's Jitu Patwari also condemned the incident.
'Maa Ahilya's city has been shamed'
Chouhan said he won't ever tolerate this behavior
Taking to Twitter, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that he won't tolerate the ill-treatment of the elderly. "Every elderly person should get love and respect. This is our culture and also humanity," he wrote. In fact, IMC Deputy Superintendent Pratap Solanki, who was tasked with shifting the elderly to government-run shelters, was suspended. Two supervisors were sacked as well.
District Collector asked to take care of the elderly: Chouhan
Supervisors sacked for negligence: IMC Commissioner
On the episode, Indore Municipal Commissioner Paribha Pal said, "Based on prima facia evidence gathered from the video which went viral, two supervisors Brajesh Lashkari and Vishwas Vajpayee have been removed from service for negligence on their part while trying to put the elderly into the vehicles." The elderly were shifted to Rain Basera for shelter during the chilly weather, she added.
