483 families move out, allege apathy of State admin
The Uttar Pradesh Government’s apathy towards the victims of Muzaffarnagar communal violence continues with over 483 riot-hit families forced to leave one of the relief camps during the last three days. On Sunday and Monday, nearly 200 families were evicted from loi relief camp and they had to spent night under the sky as the district administration had not made any arrangement for their stay. The eviction drive continued on Tuesday as the district administration has taken a decision to close down all relief camps in next three to four days.
Early on Tuesday, State’s Principal Secretary (Health) Praveen Kumar and Muzaffarnagar’s District Magistrate Kaushal Raj reached loi relief camp. “Relief camps are not safe place. Media was only reporting so many deaths and tough conditions here. So we are persuading people to leave,” the DM said.
The administration bulldozed makeshift houses and appealed people to evacuate the place immediately. The administration also parked dozens of trucks to carry belongings of refugees to their native villages.
“We have assured them that they would be provided adequate security and have compensated them. There is no need of such camps in the region. We have also given them ration for a week and other articles,” added an official.
The victims, who were evacuated earlier, blamed that they spent the night near a bus stand in Neen Khiri but no officials came to their rescue. “They have just asked us to leave the camp and return to our village without addressing our problem. We cannot go back as we are on radar of anti-social elements,” said Jamila, a refugee living in loi relief camp since September.
Another victim, Zahoor Alam, said that the administration is working under pressure of State Government and wants to dismantle the shelters to avoid embarrassment. “The State Government has failed to protect the interests of riot victims. They could not provide food and other basic amenities to victims and now they want to send people back to their villages to save their face. Even they have not given compensation amount to majority of the families,” alleged Alam.
Notably, more than 100 people including 70 children have lost their lives in relief camps in the past one month which is more than the deaths reported in sporadic violence in the region. The State Government and local administrations have been facing flack for not taking proper care. Around 4,000 people are still living in relief camps across Shamli and Muzaffarnagar districts.
