Damage assessment officials sift through wreckage, ashes

NEW DELHI: Mohammad Zakir sprinted from one lane to another, occasionally jumping over debris, to reach his house on a narrow lane in Shiv Vihar after he heard that government officials had arrived for a “damage assessment” survey.

Zakir’s damage – a 25 square yard house he shared with his wife Imrana and four children aged between three and 12 years, and pretty much everything in it.

The house was gutted by a mob on Tuesday, when several districts in north-east Delhi were witness to communal violence that claimed at least 42 lives and injured over 350.

In the next lane, a sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) and his team carefully tread the alleys — shattered glasses, sharp metal objects, building debris, rods, nails, broken furniture and charred wreckage of cars and motorcycles scattered like skeletons in a ghost town.

They noted details of damage to properties they came across, often navigating about with the help of neighbours whose houses were not touched by violent mobs. They were surrounded by soot on the walls of buildings, broken grilles, shattered windows and the stench, which served as a remnant and reminder of the horrors of the week past.

As many as 18 SDMs and their teams surveyed the riot-hit localities in north-east Delhi on Sunday. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said the assessment was aimed at bringing out a better picture of the scale of damage to property – both private and public.

The assessment was a challenge, as there were pockets where most residents had left their homes during the attacks.

Other than taking stock of damage, the officers are also entrusted with informing riot victims about the city government having set up temporary shelters for them.

“We have adequate strength to ensure that the exercise is finished at the earliest,” said Pradeep Tayal, SDM Civil Lines who is currently in charge of the damage assessment exercise, rehabilitation relief exercise in Shiv Vihar — a locality that is believed to have suffered the highest damage in terms of property during the riots.

On Sunday, HT tracked the team’s journey.

Zakir, who is a scrap dealer, was lucky enough to be in close proximity of his charred house when the SDM and his team arrived. As he went inside with the team, a group of social workers and journalists followed. With a lump in his throat, he pointed towards the his gutted bicycle and clothes of his daughter and the youngest son.

“I had sent my wife and children to my in-laws’ residence in Mustafabad – located in a relatively safe pocket in the riot-hit assembly constituency. But I stayed back at a friend’s residence a few lanes away,” he said.

On Sunday, he carried a few documents – just in case the SDM asked for it.

As the word spread about the SDM’s visit, more people hurried back to what remained of their homes. With that, more horror stories unfolded.