Tina Dabi back in limelight, not for good reasons again

After 50 makeshift houses of Hindu migrants from Pakistan were allegedly bulldozed on the direction of IAS officer Tina Dabi in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer, the settlers staged a protest outside the District Collector's office.

Dabi, who is the District Collector and Magistrate of Jaisalmer, is facing backlash for issuing orders to raze down the settlements.

The district administration said that the refugees were given prior notices to vacate the land and the action was undertaken in response to complaints received from the village head of Amarsagar and the residents living in the locality.

What happened?

According to reports, more than 50 'kutcha' houses were demolished and cleared with the help of a bulldozer as they were considered encroachments by the Urban Improvement Trust (UIT). This has left over 150 women, men, and children now exposed to the open sky.

The Jaisalmer district administration is saying that the displaced individuals had illegally built houses along the banks of the Amar Sagar Lake in Jaisalmer which had caused the inflow of water into the lake to stop, reported India Today.

What are the migrants saying?

The migrants who are protesting outside Tina Dabi's office are demanding resettlement. One of the victims, Kishanraj Bhil, said that not only were they expelled from Pakistan, but now their homes have also been demolished in India.

"Our entire Kalla Crusher Bhil settlement was completely razed. We came to India after being devastated in Pakistan, and now we have been ruined here as well," he told India Today.

What is the district administration saying?

Dabi said that as per the protesters demand, the UIT will mark them in a week and give them a proper place. "They were assured of settlement at some other place, after which the protestors announced to end the strike. The land on which the encroachment was removed yesterday (May 16) was either allotted by UIT earlier or is in the water catchment area," she said to ANI on Wednesday (May 17).

Who is Tina Dabi?

In 2015, Tina Dabi became the first person from the Dalit community to top the civil services examination. She was also in news after her marriage with Athar Aamir Ul Shafi Khan, who came second in the 2015 civil services examinations.

After getting divorced in 2021, she tied the knot with 2013 batch IAS officer Pradeep Gawande in 2022. The Rajasthan cadre officer is also quite popular on social media.