VISAKHAPATNAM: Slum dwellers joined by activists of Left parties staged a dharna at GVMC premises here on Monday. The situation at Novotel Hotel turned violent following lathi charge. Sixty persons were arrested at the Novotel Hotel when they were agitating against the Slum Free India conference. The GVMC is hosting the 2-day international workshop on Slum Free India, aiming at shifting all slums in the heart of the cities to the outskirts of the cities.The GVMC committee had prepared a report and planned to shift all slum dwellers far away from the city by constructing new residential colonies. Protesting the workshop and GVMC's proposals, slum residents in large numbers led by CPM and CPI leaders rushed to the spot and raised slogans. Observing the sensitivity of the situation, a huge number of police personnel cordoned off the hotel. The organisers tried hard to pacify the agitators, but in vein. Followed by heated arguments between officials and activists, the police cleared mob using lathis. When the police started clearing the protestors, tension prevailed for some time and then there was the use of lathis. The arrested persons were shifted to Two Town police station.Later, hundreds of slum residents rushed to the GVMC administration building and sat on a 48-hour-long hunger strike.The ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation, in association with municipal administration, urban development department and GVMC had organised the 'Slum Free India Conference' to prepare a draft plan to shift the slums out of the cities.
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