First riots now rain: Victims battle wet, moist conditions
Week after, displaced locals brave aftermath of thundershowers at camps
NEWDELHI: The thundershowers that lashed parts of Delhi over the last 24 hours added to the worries of the violence-displaced people who have taken shelter at a relief camp at an Eidgah in north-east Delhi’s Mustafabad neighbourhood, a week after communal riots claimed at least 53 lives and left over 400 injured.
The wet mattresses, moist clothes and the damp surroundings are conducive to flu, infections and other health hazards – especially in a 800-odd square metre prayer ground, fenced with brick walls on all four sides, which is currently being inhabited by at least 1,000-odd people.
The residents in the camp are people whose homes were torched by violent mobs last week.
“Any infection at this point could be a life threat. And it will spread easily,” said Shabnam Akhtar, one of the residents of the camp, as she took a paracetamol for her sister-in-law from one of the three makeshift medical camps set up inside the Eidgah premises.
As a volunteer handed over the medicines, Akhtar – whose residence was set on fire by a mob last week – inquired with a sheepish smile about why he was wearing a face mask.
The volunteer mentioned about the novel coronavirus, to which Akhtar did not seem to have a clue.
So far, 31 cases of coronavirus have been reported in India – of which four were diagnosed in Delhi and the national capital’s satellite towns such as Gurugram and Ghaziabad.
The inhabitants of the relief camp, however, evidently seemed detached from news developments at a time when they are forced to face the scourge of violence – largely in the form of lack of shelter, regular meals, clean clothes and toilets among other essentials.
“The health threat is more for the children and the elderly,” said Hasan Mohammad, another camp resident.
The youngest resident of the camp is a 22-day-old boy, named Farhaan, whose mother Rukhsana is the most worried about infections.
Medical camp volunteers present in the Eidgah said four doctors routinely check the child.
The relief camp has at least 120 children aged below 12 years, said volunteers maintaining data of residents.
The oldest resident -- among three octogenarians -- is difficult to be identified, several residents and volunteers keeping record in the camp said.
Since Monday, when the camp was set up, six of its residents have given birth to children.
The deliveries were done in a nearby hospital where the pregnant women were taken to by volunteers and government officials.
The relief camp has an anganwadi centre, a makeshift playschool and mental health counselling centre for children.
On Friday, Manish Sisodia, the deputy chief minister of the national capital, was among one of the visitors to the relief camp, along with environment minister Gopal Rai, who is also Member of Legislative Assembly of Babarpur – one of the assembly constituencies in north-east
Delhi, which witnessed violence last week.
On Thursday evening, after the first spell of heavy rains hit Delhi, large parts of the relied camp were flooded, affecting mattresses and other belongings of the residents, which spread immense panic.
By Friday morning, the Delhi government along with the help of non-governmental organisations, civil right groups and other individual volunteers contributing to relief and rehabilitation, put wooden planks on the floor to create elevation for the mattresses and the belongings of the camp residents, as a temporary measure.
They also set up four more toilets.
“We are doing our best to ensure safety and security of people in the relief camp. We have set up medical centres, legal centres, child care centres and other facilities to help them and deployed security guards too. We are open to feedback from all corners and joining hands with institutes and individuals for collective efforts in bringing relief to the victims,” said Abhinandita Mathur, advisor to the deputy chief minister and the person in charge of the control room monitoring the relief exercise the victims of the violence.