-- D.Leena, April 2005


One week after the fire that destroyed more than 700 slum houses, people are stranded in the open without any basic amenities, food, clean drinking water and compensation to re-build their homes. It was mid-afternoon when a cooking gas cylinder exploded, reducing the entire slum cluster to debris. The slum, located on the banks of the River Yamuna, was one of the last remaining clusters in the area. In early 2004, the entire river bank, which flows through Delhi, was cleared of slums as part of judicial and political orders. Thousands of families were rendered homeless in 2004. This particular cluster remained intact due to their political vote banking for the then ruling government.

According to the officials, it took 22 fire engines almost three hours to bring the blaze under control, which erupted at around 3:00 pm in Mookchand Basti, behind the power station at Rajghat. Fire department officials said that the raging inferno also triggered blasts as LPG cylinders stored in the slum units exploded. But the cause of the fire is still uncertain. The area is home to more than 10,000 people, mostly daily wage labourers. Four persons, including a five-year-old boy, died and three were injured in the major fire. The boy who died has been identified as Ismail. A 65-year-old woman, Kalawati, and her two sons, Raju (50) and Puran Chand, also lost their lives. Their bodies were charred almost beyond recognition. Two fire-fighters were among those injured. More than 700 units were reportedly gutted in the incident.

The slum dwellers however, have a different version of events. They alleged that the fire engine came an hour after the incident began, causing the blaze to spread to almost all the slums of the area. There was chaos in the area after the flames erupted. People, including children, did not know where to go as the fire engulfed them from all sides.

According to one slum dweller, more than 300 families have nothing left with them: no homes, no clothes, no utensils, and nothing to cook. The government also has not arranged a community kitchen at the site. People have to literally sleep without food and many victims cannot afford to buy foodstuff. Many of the cycle rickshaws have been damaged due to the fire, which is a main source of livelihood in the area. Further, many of the injured have been taken to burns-ward of a hospital, where the doctors administering medicines have insensitive attitude towards the slum dwellers.

The victims of the fire are very angry about the government’s inaction, particularly as not one political leader has visited them. They bear the same view about the NGOs of the city, as not one humanitarian organization has done anything for them either.

The victims are only asking for some basic assistance that includes safe drinking water and nutritious food; the doctors of the hospital have advised the victims to consume high protein food, which is not affordable for many who lost everything. They want compensation for the lost they incurred which would enable them to build houses, and lives, again.