August 5, 2012
The planning and building authority ordered the relocation on the grounds that the buildings were no longer inhabitable. (ČTK)
Around 140 people, primarily Czech Romanies, still remain in the shanty town Prednadrazi in Ostrava-Privoz they were ordered to leave by the planning and building authority yesterday.
There are many children among the people. Locals are trying to partly repair the houses and they want the office to change its decision, local Indian-born activist Kumar Vishwanathan, from the civic group Co-Existence that helps the residents of the shanty town, said.
The relocation was ordered by the planning and building authority, on the grounds that the buildings were inhabitable.
“They are mixing mortar and they are about to brick up the cellars,” Vishwanathan said. “We are waiting for nails to cover up with boards entries to dangerous balconies,” he added.
Vishwanathan said on Monday local residents wanted to tell the planning and building authority that they had eliminated some defects and would ask it to annul its decision and adopt a new position.
The owner of the company Domy Prednadrazi (Prednadrazi Houses) to which the buildings belong, Oldrich Roztocil, said he had called on the residents to leave them, but they have refused to do so.
“I expected at least the officials to come who claimed on Friday that this is dangerous and that everything must be immediately closed, but no one has come,” Roztocil said.
Jana Pondelickova, spokeswoman for the local town hall, has said the officials would come to check whether the houses had been evacuated on Monday. “If the houses are not abandoned, the officials will take further steps. At the moment I cannot say what they will be,” Pondelickova said. Roztocil said he considered the authorities’ conduct an expedient position.
He said this had been confirmed by the fact that on Friday they had said due to the state of the buildings people could die, but now they were watching the situation from the media in their comfortable house, doing nothing.
“In the morning, I found out that the people are absolutely penniless. This is why we bought some food for them,” Roztocil said.
Vishwanathan said he wanted the Ostravske vodarny a kanalizace water and sewerage company to resume the supplies of water.
“This is a violation of human rights if water is cut to the people,” he added. “It is being ensured to them by one NGO, which can be done until Monday, but we cannot do more,” Vishwanathan said, adding that gas and electricity supplies were to be cut on Monday, too.
The company interrupted the supplies of water a week ago as it was not paid for them. Roztocil said he had been owed the money by the tenants.
At first, some 200 people lived in the shanty town, but some of them have moved to a hostel. Roztocil said out of the remaining inhabitants, only two families had a valid contractual lease. The leases of the rest have been terminated and other people live there illegally. Some people have been living there for over 30 years.
According to the planning and building authority, the state of the houses threatens the health and lives of the residents. The supporting structures, ceilings and balconies are strongly damaged, while indoor wirings are unable of safe operation. The sewage system is faulty in the houses and no water has been flowing to the tenants since last week.
The relocation of the residents is rejected by government human rights commissioner Monika Simunkova. She said the step was an extreme and only temporary solution. She has accused the town hall representatives of having neglected the situation.
Ostrava representatives have dismissed the criticism.
Source: Prague Daily
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