The communal riots of Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh last September had rendered thousands of people homeless and were freezing unattended in single digit minimum temperatures. Going by media reports, more than 12 children have already died in relief camps set up for the refugees. It is true that temperatures in Muzaffarnagar have occasionally gone down below 5 degrees but is cold weather the only reason behind such untimely demise. Temperatures which are bearable for people living in appropriate shelters become bone-chilling for these people living in destitute conditions.
Reason for deaths in relief Camps
If cold conditions are the only reason for the deaths in the relief camps of Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts then hardly anyone would survive in Siberia. Pneumonia, cold flu and dysentery are few ailments that have been reported from these camps.The survivors in the camps were not even provided milk and basic needs in the first two months, leading to fatal death of children. So the government’s apathy and competence comes under the scanner in such situations.
What after evacuation?
Recently, on a surprise visit to one of the tattered tents in Muzaffarnagar, a member of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) in the presence of other activists found a host of despairing souls battling inhumane conditions and living under the fear of moving into the street overnight. One aspect that haunts us is the livelihood security of the people being evacuated from the camps. Even though most of them have been entitled to compensation but it is definitely not equivalent to a roof above their head in this severe winter. Moreover, the families who were registered on the Rs.5 lakh compensation list were apparently displaced from their camps brutally. This amount may seem like a sensible sum but not when the prices of land in the host villages have been escalating, since the riot.
In the worst riot of almost a decade in India, many people died and thousands were displaced, restitution is difficult without diligent help from the government. With temperatures almost touching freezing point and weather in North India becoming severely cold, have you ever thought where should the people suffering in the relief camps of Muzaffarnagar would go now?
picture courtesy- muslimmirror.com