The people of Muzaffarnagar hadn’t gotten over the nightmare of the devastating communal riots, when the weather gods also started to create trouble.
Malakpur village in Shamli district of neighbouring Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh has seen over 50 young children (mostly infants) lose their lives due to cold weather.
Reports claim that filthy conditions in shelter camps including lack of basic amenities and ever dropping temperatures lead to these deaths.
While most of us stay covered and wrapped in layers of woolens and quilts, chilly nights due to the cold and nippy weather in Muzaffarnagar are everyday resulting in deaths of children as well as adults. Currently, the minimum temperatures in Muzaffarnagar are maintaining around 8 to 9 degree Celsius. On the morning of 8th December, the minimum temperature fell as low as 5⁰C.
Forecast and predictions at Skymet hint towards a further drop in mercury levels (as low as 2⁰C by December end). And if no proper measures are taken to help the riot victims staying in the refugee camps, the toll could rise further. Dense to shallow fog has already been covering the region and is expected to increase as we move deeper into the winter months.
Inmates in the refugee camps are exposed to cold and the dampness on the ground adds to the worry. In some camps, children refuse to go inside their tent fearing the dew which drops down in tent as water, making the tent wet and even colder. People therefore prefer to stay near the fire all night.
The Uttar Pradesh government has apparently released Rs 90 crore as compensation for the affected Muslim families but other than one regular blanket, the families seem to have got nothing from the authorities.
Communal riots in Muzaffarnagar broke out in September and since then the families of these homeless have been living in refugee camps.
Photo by emirates 247
