Those expelled from B9 are being evicted again: they are being temporarily removed from the C-31 bridge “for health reasons”

BadalonaThe Badalona City Council has launched an operation that has involved the temporary eviction of the settlement under the bridge that crosses the C-31 road, where several people had been sheltering for the past three months. Hundreds of people who were expelled from the former B9 instituteMunicipal sources consulted by ARA confirm that this is a cleaning operation involving municipal cleaning services and local police officers, and that the effects of the cleaning products will prevent anyone from being in the area "for a few days." In fact, officers in the area acknowledge that "a local administrative authority" has authorized "the eviction for health reasons" of the settlement. They also do not clarify when those affected might be able to return.

After the eviction of the B9 building in November, the City Council did not offer any alternative housing to the people evicted from the former high school, where up to 400 people had lived. The Catalan government and social organizations sought options to house those affected, but some ended up gathering under the C-31 bridge. Some of those affected by Tuesday's operation explained to ARA that municipal services assured them their objective was "only to clean up," but that all their belongings were removed from the area with the warning that anything not taken would be thrown away and taken to the landfill for "safeguarding."

Similarly, municipal sources insist that this is a public health operation. They assert that municipal technicians have detected "serious sanitation problems, with the resulting complaints from residents" in this section under the C-31 highway. In fact, residents of Badalona agree that complaints about bad smells and noise had increased in recent weeks. During Tuesday's operation, the local police are present to accompany the technicians, and social services are on site to assist those who are there, as the cleaning involves products that will prevent them from remaining for a few days.