Muzaffarnagar riot victims forcefully evicted from camp; take refuge at bus stand
Muzaffarnagar: The Akhilesh Yadav-led Uttar Pradesh Government has done everything abominable when it comes to riot victims temporarily living in relief camps. In a fresh move, the government officials have evicted over 70 families from a relief camp in Muzaffarnagar. They are now forced to live in a bus stand with no electricity, water or toilet.
After being evicted from Loi relief camp allegedly without any compensation, the families have taken shelter in the bus stand at Neem Kheri village. It was the last batch of families evicted in the last three days from the Loi camp, where over 300 families had taken shelter after the communal riots killed over 60 people and displaced more than 40,000 in September. When contacted, Moumin, a riot victim living in relief camp, says some sort of pressure is being exerted on those who run the camp. For the first time, they are telling us to leave. Moumin along with his sister, Moumina, had to leave the camp after government official exerted pressure on them. They have 12 children and a disabled father in the 20-member joint family.
The Uttar Pradesh Government is allegedly demolishing its camps and forcing the victims out so that enough media attention is not paid over the lack of medical and other facilities at the make-shift camps. The UP Government has admitted that at least 34 children have died in the relief camps since September. Many victims have refused to leave without getting the promised compensation of Rs. 5 lakh. They fear they may be cheated out of their compensation if they leave the relief camps. The Akhilesh Yadav government has promised Rs. 5 lakh to the riot-affected persons.
Earlier, the Uttar Pradesh Government was severely criticised for organising Saifai Mahotsav attended by Akhilesh Yadav and SP chief Mulayam Singh. The young chief minister had defended the event, calling it a decade-old Samajwadi Party tradition. "I know you have not come here to cover the festival, but instead you have come here to show in one window that people are suffering in the camps and on the other, you will show the festivities," Akhilesh Yadav had told reporters.
