The 15 occupants, all of whom are school and college students from the Delhi University, have been provided makeshift tents by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board next to an open sewer line
Ankur Pal, 28, will not be able to visit his hometown near Haridwar during the winter break from college as all his belongings are in the rubble of the demolished hostel for visually impaired at west Delhi's Virendra Nagar in Janakpuri. On December 15, the hostel that he had been sharing with 14 other students was brought down by the DDA.
"I came back all excited to plan my visit home after months, only to realise that our hostel was brought down without any prior notice," says Pal, who cancelled his trip. "We have been sleeping outside in cold ever since and have not been able to change clothes as it is difficult to find belongings. Most of us are 100 per cent blind," he adds.
Dinesh, another occupant, complains of stray dogs taking away their belongings and food. A dog reportedly took a pair of his slippers one day, and a jacket the next day. Their cylinder and gas stove was also stolen by nearby slum dwellers.
"Our books are lying in the rubble," says Mohit, who is recovering from a Hernia operation and was one of the three present on the day, including Kamlesh Kumar, the main caretaker of the hostel. "I was resting when they came without any prior warning and started to throw things away. We did not understand what was going on at first, except for noises and falling of bricks," he adds.
The 15 occupants, all of whom are school and college students from the Delhi University, have been provided makeshift tents by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) next to an open sewer line. The surrounding area has rubble and the occupants are now finding it difficult to move around as they are not familiar with this changed landscape.
Meanwhile, taking up suo motu cognisance of the matter, the Delhi High Court asked the DDA, Delhi government, and DUSIB to submit a report on the same and to immediately rehabilitate the residents.
The DDA, however, said: "We have made arrangements to rehabilitate the residents in a DDA community hall located behind the Tihar Jail, with all facilities for food and clothing to be borne by the Authority till such time they are not given permanent stay at a government hostel. Despite our repeated requests for over a week, the residents didn't move. We have been requesting to move to the place for a week now."
Local SDMC Councillor Narendra Chawla, with the help of some locals, has provided them with a tent to keep stuff and to sleep but there is still no provision for water or toilets. DDA, in a letter, has mentioned to put them in a community hall temporarily.
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