The residents of the rehabilitation colony in Mohali’s Phase 11 Friday set up their tents as part of their continuous protests for the last three days against the Municipal Corporation and GMADA’s joint anti-encroachment drive.
The joint drive that began on November 27, from Mohali’s Phase 4, had to be halted as it faced strong resistance from the residents. Following this, the authorities issued a final public notice before 1 December 2025, giving encroachers three days to remove illegal structures on their own. Failing compliance, the MC and GMADA announced that they would proceed with removals under the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
As the anti-encroachment drive reached Phase 11, the memories of the 1984 Sikh massacre came rushing back to the families who had once escaped the nightmare.
Inderjit Kaur, a resident of the colony, said, “We saw our father and two brothers being thrown into fire and burnt alive by a mob. When we survived, we came here. The government at that time gave us these small rooms to live in. We left our homes, our work, everything. We started a new life here: opened small shops, raised our children. And now, the government is coming to demolish the shops built next to our rooms, citing High Court orders. We were displaced then, and even today our families haven’t fully recovered. What is the difference between that government and this one if the end result is still our displacement?”
Many families said they did not construct these small shops out of desire, but sheer compulsion. “We never got jobs. To run our homes, we extended a bit of space and opened shops. This is our livelihood… our only support,” the residents said.
Another resident, Pinky Soni, recalled how she fled Delhi carrying her young children. “Muslim families saved us. They fed us, sheltered us, and took us to a relief camp. From there we came here. The government gave us matchbox-like rooms, and we made them our homes. Our children grew up here. But now, after hearing about demolition again, we haven’t been able to sleep at night. Where do we go now?”
The small rehabilitation colony shared a collective voice: “If the government gives us proper commercial spaces, why would we run shops from our homes? We are not illegal encroachers on public roads. We simply can’t afford high rents. What other option do we have?”
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The action by GMADA and the Municipal Corporation has reopened the wounds of decades past. These families, who rebuilt their shattered lives after losing everything in the riots, once again stand under the looming threat of displacement.
The entire operation is being carried out in compliance with a 2019–2022 High Court order, with renewed action initiated after the court began contempt proceedings over the lack of strict enforcement in previous years.
