After COVID-19, Delhi riot victims on a wing and a prayer

The relief work for riot victims has come to a halt since March 21 because of a bureaucratic hurdle.
Women and children of Shama and Zarina's families share a room at Masjid Umar madrassa in Mustafabad. (Photo| EPS/ Parveen Negi)
Women and children of Shama and Zarina's families share a room at Masjid Umar madrassa in Mustafabad. (Photo| EPS/ Parveen Negi)

NEW DELHI: After being displaced from their houses twice now, around three dozen people have found refuge in two rooms and a hall of a Madrassa in Mustafabad. When their homes were looted and destroyed in the recent communal riots in North East Delhi, most victims of violence had found refuge in the Eidgah relief camp, being run by Delhi Wakf board. 

However, they lost their temporary shelters too which were closed after Prime Minister Modi decided to enforce a nationwide curfew.

One of these twice-displaced people is 56-year-old Shama Parween. She shares a room with 13 other women and children, including her sister Zarina and her children. Shama Parween and Zarina fled from their houses in Govind Vihar due for the fear of rioters. Fourteen other members of Parween’s family, including four grandchildren, the youngest of which is three months old, are staying at this madrassa.

Parween and her family understand the risks of staying so close to each other in the wake of the global pandemic Coronavirus. But returning to their houses and living in separate rooms is an option not open to them.

“We did try going back there four days ago but people there threatened us of dire consequences. They say they won’t let Muslims return. What do we do? We have no money. No one can go to work,” Parween says, asking her daughter to cover her mouth and nose, and ensuring that her 12-year-old grandson wears a triple-layered mask.

Parween’s younger sister Zarina, her husband, three sons and a daughter, have a similar story and same concerns. Zarina says, “We do not know how we will survive if we’re forced out of this small space too. My husband can’t earn anything during the lockdown. So we can’t afford a new place...”

Before she could complete the sentence, Zarina’s 15-year-old daughter says, “Ammi we will not return. They did not even spare our cuckoo (referring to their pet rooster who was allegedly killed by rioters).

In the next room, Nasreen who lives with her husband and her 18-year-old son, is praying. “God seems to be angry with all of us. That is why even developed countries have not managed to find a cure for this disease. Only prayers can help people now. We have no money and no place to go. We have been told to look for a place but we have not been able to find anything. Returning to our house is not possible,” says Nasreen, who owns a house in Shankar Vihar.

Another family of five, which came here from the relief camp near Al-Hind hospital, has a similar story. They would rather die of corona than by the swords of the rioters.

“How do they expect us to go back? Will the government and the police protect us if the rioters attack us again? No, they will save the rioters and let us die,” says an 18-year-old Arshi (name changed), whose family has a house in Shiv Vihar, one of the worst affected areas in the recent riots at North East Delhi. In another corner of the hall, men of the families sit in a huddle.

The relief work for riot victims has come to a halt since March 21 because of a bureaucratic hurdle – Waqf board, coordinating the relief work, doesn’t have a chairperson after Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan vacated the chair. The compensation package announced by Wakf board hasn’t been distributed.

The board had announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh each and 60000 each for families whose houses were damaged in the riots. Officials say that cheques were prepared and were to be handed over soon but the work got halted due to Khan’s exit.

Locals say Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Haji Yunus gave Rs 3000 and some rations to around two hundred families who were staying at the Eidgah camp after it was completely cleared on March 24. Almost a hundred other families also staying at the camp got nothing. With the 3000 Rs, the families managed to find a small room but complain that the ration is getting over. Some families are living at the places of their relatives.

While the families staying at the madrassa have no means to find a place, the caretaker of the madrassa Mohammad Saqib Qazmi is in a dilemma on how to handle the situation. The administration and the police, he says, is pressurising him to evict these people because of the social distancing measures prescribed by the central government. Qazmi says he has so far allowed the people live in the madrassa at the request of Delhi Wakf board which gave him a meagre amount of Rs 22,000 for the welfare of 54 riot survivors, of which some have since left.

Qazmi says he cannot push the people away, who he knows are extremely vulnerable. But without government support, he does not know if he can manage the expenses of so many people. “The daily expenses of the victims is coming to around Rs 8,000 even now although we have shifted some people to rented accommodations. There were 54 of them. These people are very poor and clueless. They need help especially when there is a pandemic. I understand it is a serious disease but I cannot throw them away. If Wakf Board is not functional, Delhi government should step in. Welfare of the riot victims is more the responsibility of the government than the Wakf Board.”

Qazmi adds he has been getting regular calls from activists to accommodate more people who were evicted from the relief camps but the madrassa is hard-pressed for resources. “We are taking care of the people from madrassa and mosque funds but the funds are not coming any more. People are not coming to mosques due to the shutdown. Where will the money come from? Wakf board officials tell me they will take care of the expenses but because they don’t have a chairperson, that will take time. How am I supposed to do all this in the meanwhile? Am I Delhi government?”

Following the riots in North East Delhi areas, there relief camps were set up for displaced riot victims. While the largest camp at Eidgah was being managed byWakf board, one at Babu Nagar (housing around 20 families) was being managed by the Delhi government and another near Al-Hind hospital (housing around 30 families), which was initially being managed by private authorities but was later co-managed byWakf board.

Officials say that the relief camps were to be continued for some time more but with the outbreak of COVID-19, the removal of camps became inevitable. Delhi government had engaged around 15 officials for supervising the relief work for riot victims but with the shutdown and mass exodus of migrant workers, most of the officials have now been asked to take care of relief camps for migrant workers, according to sources. 

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