Party workers tried to force us to vote, Sheva Koliwada transit camp residents say

Following a report in The Hindu, officials tried to convince villagers against boycotting the Assembly election, as they had done the Lok Sabha election earlier this year, but in vain

Residents of Sheva Koliwada in Uran taluka of Raigad district, who have been living in a transit camp for 40 years, boycotted the State Assembly election on Wednesday, November 20, 2024.

Following The Hindu’s report, ‘40 years in a transit camp’ (November 17), officials from the Election Commission of India (ECI), and the Raigad District Collector visited the village to convince people to vote, and promised to convey, after the election, their demand for rehabilitation.

Since Monday, residents have alleged that political parties had been threatening them with job losses in the private sector, and the loss of documents, including as the Aadhaar card, Voter ID, and Ration Card.  

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Sheva Koliwada, situated about 54 km from Mumbai, has about 600 families living in eight-by-eight square feet homes with single-brick walls, tin roofs, and no windows.  

In 1984, when the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) township project was coming up, the people of Sheva gaon (village), were moved to two transit camps, 12 km away from their current location.

The fisherfolk were moved to Boripakhadi village, also known as Hanuman or Sheva Koliwada; the farmers were moved to Bokadvira village, also known as Navin Sheva. They were promised compensation for the loss of their land, livelihoods, and way of life. In their original village, Sheva gaon, they had an abundance of livelihood opportunities — salt pans, fishing in the creek, and agriculture.  

On November 17, Santosh Kumar Rai, the ECI’s general observer for the Uran Vidhan Sabha constituency, met the villagers, and asked them to cast their vote as elections takes place once in five years, and that he would submit their concerns to the ECI when he returned to New Delhi.  

On November 18, the residents of Sheva Koliwada submitted a written letter to Mr. Rai, stating the history of their struggles, and the government documents from 1982 and 1987 that had promised to rehabilitate the 256 families on 17 acres land, alleging breach of trust and foul play after they were convinced to move.  

“We never wanted to boycott the election but who are we voting for? It is not a joke that we have been homeless for 40 years despite owning land before the JNPT project came up. We have felt cheated for four decades. If we have to fight for our rights even after 77 years of Independence, then we have not achieved independence in a real sense. We have tried all approaches to make our voice heard, even moved the Bombay High Court, but we are still left in a limbo,” fisherman Ramesh Bhaskar Koli, 65, said.  

The residents boycotted the 2024 Lok Sabha election as well.  

Since Monday, residents allege that the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray or UBT) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had been forcing them to cast their vote.  

Sushma Koli (name changed to protect her identity), a senior citizen, claimed that party workers had held the hands of her husband and her to forcibly walk them to the polling booth. “They threatened us that if we did not vote, they would scrap our government documents such as Ration Card, Voter ID and Aadhaar card,” she said.  

“First-time voters are threatened that their Voter IDs will be scrapped. People in the private sector or contractual jobs have been threatened with the loss of their jobs if they did not vote. We complained to the Deputy Collector. He assured us that the police would investigate it. But the police did not do anything. Is this democracy?” fisherman Mangesh Anant Koli (42), who refused to vote, said.  

In the coastal town of Uran, the BJP’s Mahesh Baldi, the sitting MLA, is contesting against Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Manohar Bhoir.  

“We received information that political party workers were issuing threats to the residents of Sheva Koliwada to vote. We had instructed the Returning Officer and police staff to keep a check on it. We met the residents on Monday and asked them to not boycott their precious votes as it was their constitutional right. I had also assured them that when their matter is already being taken care of, they need not protest in this way. We have listened to their grievances, and I am working for their rights,” Bharat Waghmare, Deputy Collector (Rehabilitation), Raigad district, said.  

Eight months ago, Mr. Waghmare said he had earmarked 10 hectares of land in Jaskhar gaon and Funde gaon in Uran, and sent the proposal to the Central government for approval as the land belonged to the JNPT. “We have also assured them that each farmer and koli family would receive 4,000 sq. ft. of land. Families not engaged in farming or fishing will get 2,000 sq. ft. We also have to do a survey as the last one was completed in 1986. We are hoping that by December 2025, people will be living in their permanent homes,” he added.  

Janardan Kasar, Returning Officer on election duty, has not accepted the residents’ claims. “No such incident happened that the residents are claiming. It is people’s constitutional right to cast their vote. We had 40% voter turnout,” Mr. Kasar said.  

Published - November 20, 2024 10:46 pm IST