UP kids given disputed land

In what seems like a cruel joke on the five children who were forced to live in a graveyard after their parents died of AIDS in Pratapgarh district, the Uttar Pradesh government has allotted a plot of land that is disputed to the abandoned kids to build a home for themselves.

The children on Sunday reached the plot that had been earmarked for them by the state government and were rudely confronted by a man who claimed to be the owner of the plot.

The man reportedly told the children that it was disputed property with a case pending in court.

District officials, when contacted on Monday, promised to conduct an inquiry into how disputed land was allotted to the children. The offi- cials also assured them a ‘ proper alternative accommodation.’

The plight of five orphaned children who had been ostracised by villagers after their parents died of AIDS, had hit the headlines last week and chief minister Akhilesh Yadav not only gave them ` 1 lakh each but also promised them a house.

The district administration, instead of giving them a house, gave then a land— probably expecting the five kids to build a home for themselves. To make matters worse, the plot is also disputed.

The children were living under a tattered tarpaulin in the graveyard after the villagers drove them out of the village because their parents had died of AIDS and the local people felt they were also carrying the “infection”.