Evicted, they are yet to get relief

NEW DELHI: Born amid the rumble of bulldozers near the Mansarovar Park Metro station, Shaina will turn one this month. She is one of nearly 500 children who have been staying in hutments made of plastic and tin sheets, along with their families, after their homes were razed by the railways on December 26, 2013. A year on, chilling memories of the drive to demolish the settlement of daily wagers, vendors and beggars in northeast Delhi, continue to haunt residents.
Recovering from a bout of pneumonia, Shaina-born to a disabled mother and a beggar father-will now have to brave the bone-chilling cold in her shanty. The nearby night shelter set up by the state and run by NGO Humana People to People is the only refuge for many of the families who lost their homes in the eviction drive. During daytime, it is their world for some vocational training and informal education.
Despite protests from several quarters, the railways and the state are yet to work out a policy for rehabilitation of nearly 1,000 residents who have been rendered "homeless".
The railways earlier claimed there were 52,000 people who had encroached upon its land.
Soon after the demolition drive was carried out, lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung had stepped. He sought immediate relief for those displaced and ordered that no further demolitions would be carried out.
Legal measures to remove these encroachers will be considered once there is better weather and alternative accommodation has been found, the lieutenant governor had said.
Many of the residents, who have been living here for nearly two decades, were forced to make the site along the railway line their home after a JJ cluster in Seelampur where they had lived was demolished. Jai Singh, a vendor, pointed out that all residents here have voter cards and there are about 500 children, most of whom are enrolled in schools.
As Delhi prepares for a fresh election, elders like Puttilal, recalled how most of them from Bara Banki in UP were forced to leave their villages due to poverty decades ago.
"We have no water, no legal access to electricity and defecate in the open. We cast vote every election, but is anyone thinking of us?" he asked. A few women joined him, pointing out that they had never seen a community toilet or mobile toilet unit here. They fear for their safety as they have no choice but to resort to open defecation along the railway tracks or in the nearby hedges.