JOIN US60-year-old Saira Biwi came from West Bengal in the 60s with her husband in the hope of finding a better life in Delhi. Life was indeed better in the unauthorised house in east Delhi’s Nizamuddin where they were living.
That changed in 2001 when their house was demolished and they were sent to the far flung area of north-west Delhi’s Bhalaswa Dairy.
In Bhalaswa Dairy they had to live in a jhuggi. On Sunday night, however, that house also got reduced to ashes when a fire broke out in their neighbour.
“800-900 families came from Nizamuddin here in 2001. Out of them 150 didn’t get land as compensation, so they started living in rent. Out of those 150 families, four families were such who couldn’t afford the rent also – ours was one of them,’’ said Saira Biwi.
Biwi and the other three families made their jhuggis with the help provided by the nearby people and their employers under whom they were working.
“I used to work as a household help in a nearby bungalow. My employers gave me some money with which I bought tarpaulin and raised this structure where me and my son and his family were living,’’ Biwi added.
Biwi’s 32-year-old son Abdul is worried about the future of his 10-year-old son Ramzan, who is studying in class VI.
“We couldn’t study due to our poverty, but I sent my son to school. After the fire all his books and uniform has burnt. We are feeling hopeless now I dread if he also becomes an illiterate like me,’’ said Abdul.
Delhi’s Chief Minister announced a compensation of Rs 25,000 each to the families whose jhuggis got burnt in the fire, however, according to the son-in-law of Saira Biwi, that amount will send them back to square one in jhuggis.
“With a compensation of Rs 25,000 we can build another jhuggi, but, can the CM guarantee that it will not get burnt again in the future. Why can’t we get a pucca house for ourselves,’’ said Milan, son-in-law of Saira Biwi.