Munger, Aug. 17: Sixty Mahadalit displaced families have taken social activist Anna Hazare’s route to make themselves heard.

The family members would sit on a fast-unto-death from August 18 after the state government allegedly denied alternative shelter to the families.

The family members, along with different social organisations, like Munger chapter of Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) will sit on the dharna.

“Like Anna, we too, will script history after embarking on the hunger strike against the government’s apathy,” said 60-year-old Sarjan Manjhi.

Manjhi has lived in Gumti No-3 (railway gate) along Jamalpur-Munger railway tracks that pass through ward number 15 in Munger town, since birth. In 2010, he was ordered to vacate his house because an ambitious rail-cum-road overbridge across river Ganga was to be built. Manjhi and many others have been residing in Gumti No-3 for the past 60-70 years. They have worked as ragpickers and scavengers here for years.

“When we work we eat, and if we don’t work, we have to stay hungry. The past one-and-a-half-years has been miserable. We have made temporary settlements of plastic on railway land where construction is yet to begin. We have to stay back at home every day because of the fear that the temporary settlement will be removed. There have been days when we have gone hungry trying to protect an already destroyed home,” said Katul Manjhi, a resident of the slum.

General secretary of SEWA, Munger, Nutan Singh has alleged that the construction of the rail-cum-road overbridge brought more trouble for them. “A letter from the ministry of railway in English was sent to illiterate residents of these jhuggis (slums) to vacate the occupied land in 2010,” Nutan said. She also alleged that many calls have been made to the councillor, commissioner of Munger Municipal Corporation and the district magistrate but in vain.

Left in the lurch, the Mahadalit families sent an application to chief minister Nitish Kumar during his visit to Khaira, 51km from Munger district headquarters on June 2010. Nitish had asked the district administration to take action.

“When nothing was done, the families even went to Patna and met SC/ST welfare minister, hoping of some relief. The Mahadalits have spent chilly winters, scorching heat and monsoon in loosely tied tents for the past one-and-half-years trying all possible measures to get the attention of the higher ups. They only got apathy and insult from all government officials,” Nutan said.