Medha Patkar ends fast after nine days

Social activist Medha Patkar ended her hunger strike protesting the eviction of slum-dwellers from Golibar in Mumbai’s suburban Khar locality on Saturday after the Maharshtra government agreed to her demands.

The 56-year-old activist broke her strike on the ninth day after the state government issued a notification Saturday afternoon that met her demands, Patkar’s associate Madhuresh Kumar, a member of National Alliance of Peoples’ Movement (NAPM) said.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan called had called her late Thursday night to try and break a deal, but as her fast entered the eighth day on Friday, Patkar stood firm on her demand for the removal of Clause 3K of the Maharashtra Slum Areas Act.

She had been on strike since May 20 in the in Golibar slum area of Mumbai, where she alleged that 140 acres of land was handed to a private builder based on forged consent letters from the slum dwellers.

She said builder Shivalik Ventures is ?cheating? 26,000 families at the 140-actre Golibar slum (the second largest in Mumbai) in the name of redevelopment.

She demanded that an independent panel should look into the Golibar slum project, calling for its immediate cancellation also similar ones under Clause 3K of the Maharashtra Slum Areas Act.

”Not only all the projects under 3K, but also the Clause itself should immediately be cancelled. In case of Shivalik, the fraud is obvious,” said Patkar.

Pertinently, under the Maharashtra Slum Areas Act, Clause 3K allows promoters to redevelop big slums without consent of the dwellers.

Members of National Association of Peoples’ Movement (NAPM), social activists Anna Hazare and Swami Agnivesh are supporting Patkar?s cause.

The Maharashtra government approved the land for redevelopment by Shivalik Ventures in 2008.

Shivalik Ventures is partly owned by Unitech that is allegedly linked to the 2G spectrum allocation scam.