A protest by mahadalits, dalits and backward poor, settled for years by the side of the railway line and NH 31, was organized under the joint banners of the CPI(ML) and AIARLA on 7 February in front of the Beguserai Collectorate. Hundreds of people living in hutments in Beguserai town (Lohiya Nagar Railway Gumti, DPS School Jail Gate) and Balliya, Janipur, Kurha and Kalyanpur participated in the protest demonstration. The demands for alternative housing arrangements and flyovers in densely populated areas to be made before making NH 31 into a 4-lane road as per the Bihar government’s Vas Bhumi Policy 2014 for urban and rural areas and the Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation Policy was made during the protest. The protest meeting was addressed by CPI(ML) district Secretary Diwakar Kumar, AIARLA district Secretary Chandradev Verma and other leaders. Addressing the meeting Com. Diwakar said that Nitish Kumar is silently abetting attacks on and killings of dalits by feudal forces and evicting them from their homes and lands. Hutment residents Suresh Paswan, Ramchandra Mahto, Rambalak Mahto, Rita Devi, Vinod Paswan and hundreds of others also participated in the protest.
