Document-Checking Drive Sparks Panic Among Assamese Migrants in Lucknow Slum

For 38-year-old Imtiyaz Ali, a resident of the Phool Bagh Bahadurpur slum cluster in Lucknow, December 4 began like any other day—until a team from the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC), led by Mayor Sushma Kharkwal, arrived to inspect documents to identify alleged “Bangladeshi and Rohingya” illegal immigrants.

According to Ms. Kharkwal, several residents failed to produce legal papers, prompting her call for their eviction. Videos of civic teams conducting door-to-door checks quickly went viral on social media.

Statewide crackdown on ‘illegal immigrants’

The incident comes in the backdrop of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s November 22 directive to all District Magistrates to identify illegal immigrants and take stringent action. Instructions were also issued to set up temporary detention centres in every district.

Residents allege harassment, loss of livelihood

Imtiyaz Ali, originally from Barpeta, Assam, said authorities seized his handcart and ordered families to vacate within 15 days without verifying documents.

“They just entered our homes and snatched our livelihoods,” Ali said.
“We earn ₹8,000–₹10,000 a month, pay rent for the land, and have all valid documents. We are Indian citizens.”

Around 50 families from Assam, earning their living by collecting and selling scrap, said they possess Aadhaar, PAN, voter ID, and are listed in the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Another resident, Sujan Ali, who has lived in Lucknow for 18 years, said:

“If anyone is staying illegally, we will hand them over. But don’t terrorise us. Return our handcarts and let us work.”

Opposition calls the drive ‘intimidation’

Opposition parties termed the operation an intimidation tactic by the BJP government, questioning the mayor’s authority to conduct identity checks.

A Congress delegation visited the slum on Sunday and expressed support for the Assamese migrants. Congress national secretary Shahnawaz Alam said residents had valid IDs and were living on private land, questioning the LMC’s eviction order.

“Such actions based on language or region will divide the nation,” he said, demanding an apology from civic authorities for “harassing” law-abiding citizens.