Million miles from Parliament, living sleep on the dead

For all the hot air and stink in Parliament tomorrow, perhaps it will be difficult to match this scene from today: a record 45-degree Celsiu...

For all the hot air and stink in Parliament tomorrow, perhaps it will be difficult to match this scene from today: a record 45-degree Celsius heat that bakes the stones beneath bare feet, not a single fan, the stench of overcrowded toilets — and thousands living in a place meant for the dead, next to graves, many of which were dug just before the carnage began.

If the plight of refugees is an indicator of how serious the Narendra Modi Government is to bring the state back on its feet, consider these:
• When the Prime Minister poured his heart out on April 4, Modi by his side, there were about 10,000 people in the Shah Alam relief camp. Today, it’s closer to 15,000. On Saturday night, exactly two months after Godhra, 2,000 people came, fleeing the mobs in Chandola and nearby Mehmadabad.

What the PM promised

• Free ration to all those living below poverty line.
• Ex-gratia death compensation from PM Relief Fund of Rs.1 lakh
• Expenses on destitute children and widows to be borne by the centre.
• Rs.50,000 assistance each for completely destroyed houses in rural areas
• Rs.15,000 assistance each for partially damaged houses in rural areas 26 days later: (for inmates in Ahmedabad relief camps)
• Earning asset loss compensation: survey on, money yet to be
sanctioned.

• Order on PM Relief Fund compensation yet to be implemented.
• Of the 15,000-odd families living in all relief camps in the city, only 2,478 families have been paid Rs 1,250 each for loss of belongings.
• Only 1,730 families have been compensated for loss of their houses — amounting to a total of Rs 106.89 lakh.
• Injury compensation: Only 150 victims paid a total of Rs 3.9 lakh.
• Death compensation: 147 (out of 331) paid Rs 1 lakh each (Rs 40,000 in cheque and Rs 60,000 as bonds).
• Per disabled family compensation: Rs.50,000

• Adjacent to the dargah at the relief camp is the burial ground. This is the only patch with some trees — the rest is stone that scorches the feet. Until last week, refugees came here for a few hours to beat the heat. This afternoon, many were sleeping on the graves.

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• The Government’s daily ration is based on a head count done in mid-March which put the number at 10,537. By mid-April, according to the camp’s registers, the number had gone up to 12,181 and by this evening, to 15,000. Yet authorities have taken no note of the increase.

• Even the volume of water — 24,000 litres per day — hasn’t been increased since the first week of March.

• Two days before Vajpayee’s visit, seven tin bathrooms and 18 toilets were put up for women. Earlier, there were only six bathroom and two toilets for them. Since then, the government hasn’t added any more. Men have been using five bathrooms and eight toilets of the dargah.

• A fully equipped paramedic team was stationed at the camp a day before Vajpayee’s visit. It left the day after the PM left for New Delhi. This medical team now shows up once a week, sometimes once in 10 days.

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• For the women who delivered children in the relief camp, the Red Cross sent packed food for the infants. Today, camp officials are using this to feed the new mothers.

• 1,400 inmates were lucky to receive a ‘‘cash dole’’ of Rs 1,250 on April 3, a day before the PM’s visit. Once the PM left, this cash dole — for whatever it was worth — has stopped.

• Vajpayee promised a package for those who have lost their relatives and their houses. Not one inmate has received any compensation for damage to property. Only seven have received cheques for Rs 40,000 each as ‘‘death compensation.’’

• For compensation, inmates have to organise death certificates, post mortem reports, proof from the graveyerd and a copy of the FIR. ‘‘Where do we get these when our entire houses have been burnt along with the people?,’’ questions Sabera bano, a Naroda Patiya resident.

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• Only 27 have got ‘‘injury compensation’’ between Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000. And there are several like 19-year-old Shahjahan Kabir Ali from Naroda Patiya who are waiting. Five of her family were killed, she received 85 per cent burns and is lying in the Civil Hospital for two months, she hasn’t got a rupee.

• As for the inmates returning to their homes, only five out of the 15,000 have left the camp — to go and live with their relatives. The rest wait.

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