<p>Though normalcy has almost returned to the riot-torn Muzaffarnagar district, thousands of people who fled their homes and took shelter at relief camps have refused to return to their villages fearing threat to their lives.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The district authorities have been making all-out attempts to persuade the displaced people to go back to their villages, assuring them that no harm would come to them. <br />Yet there were no takers of their assurances.<br /><br />At Idgah Grounds in Kandhla, people said they preferred starving to death there rather than going back to villages and getting “killed by rioters”.<br /><br />They said they had also told Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav about it when he visited them on Sunday. <br /><br />They asked the Chief Minister to go to the villages and see for himself the destruction of their property.<br /><br />Sources said a majority of the inmates at the relief camps wanted the government to settle them at some other place.<br /><br /> People feared the violence could erupt any time, and there was no guarantee of their safety in the villages.<br /><br />The assurance of the government that it would pay for building the destroyed houses also failed to cut any ice with the people.<br /><br />The refusal of these people to return has put the district officials in a quandary. <br /><br />“We cannot keep them in the relief camps for an indefinite period,” an official said, adding it was very difficult to make necessary arrangements for such a large number of people.<br /><br />“Many women are pregnant while many delivered in the relief camps,” an official said.<br />The violence in Muzaffarnagar that erupted a week back has rendered around 45,000 people homeless.<br /><br />District officials said 38 relief camps had been set up, in which around 45,000 people, including old men, women and children, had taken refuge. <br /><br />The camps also had thousands of people from the Baghpat district. <br />They had fled their homes after the communal violence spread to the rural areas in the district. <br /><br />At least 47 people were killed and over 100 injured in the violence in Muzaffarnagar and in some adjoining districts.<br /></p>
<p>Though normalcy has almost returned to the riot-torn Muzaffarnagar district, thousands of people who fled their homes and took shelter at relief camps have refused to return to their villages fearing threat to their lives.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The district authorities have been making all-out attempts to persuade the displaced people to go back to their villages, assuring them that no harm would come to them. <br />Yet there were no takers of their assurances.<br /><br />At Idgah Grounds in Kandhla, people said they preferred starving to death there rather than going back to villages and getting “killed by rioters”.<br /><br />They said they had also told Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav about it when he visited them on Sunday. <br /><br />They asked the Chief Minister to go to the villages and see for himself the destruction of their property.<br /><br />Sources said a majority of the inmates at the relief camps wanted the government to settle them at some other place.<br /><br /> People feared the violence could erupt any time, and there was no guarantee of their safety in the villages.<br /><br />The assurance of the government that it would pay for building the destroyed houses also failed to cut any ice with the people.<br /><br />The refusal of these people to return has put the district officials in a quandary. <br /><br />“We cannot keep them in the relief camps for an indefinite period,” an official said, adding it was very difficult to make necessary arrangements for such a large number of people.<br /><br />“Many women are pregnant while many delivered in the relief camps,” an official said.<br />The violence in Muzaffarnagar that erupted a week back has rendered around 45,000 people homeless.<br /><br />District officials said 38 relief camps had been set up, in which around 45,000 people, including old men, women and children, had taken refuge. <br /><br />The camps also had thousands of people from the Baghpat district. <br />They had fled their homes after the communal violence spread to the rural areas in the district. <br /><br />At least 47 people were killed and over 100 injured in the violence in Muzaffarnagar and in some adjoining districts.<br /></p>