Muzaffarnagar:
Shehzad has a two-month-old baby who has been feverish for a week. At night, his wife and he sleep with their child on a straw mat; they share one blanket. The patchy roof of an impoverished tent tries half-heartedly to keep the rain out.
This family is one of nearly 400 who are still living at a makeshift camp in Loi, which offered them shelter when communal riots ripped through Muzaffarnagar in September, forcing thousands to abandon their villages, many of which were set on fire.
Shehzad says he will never return to where he lived, a village where Jat Hindu farmers are in the majority.
For families that were displaced by the Hindu-Muslim violence, the government has promised five lakhs each. Some have bought new plots of land, where they will begin the task of rebuilding a new life. Shehzad's father accepted the money owed to his family, then disappeared.
So this tent in this desolate row of this camp is as good as it gets.
Those who live here say food is prepared and offered by NGOs. The government supplied groceries that were exhausted in the first 10 days, they claim.
Shezad says in the last one month, six children have died of pneumonia. At night, the temperature drops to 9 degrees. A confluence of disinterest and inefficiency have watermarked the government's response. "Only 181 blankets have been distributed among 700 children. Besides that, almost 2,500 adults live here. No extra blankets have been sent for them. The blankets they are using had been given by NGOs," says Faisal, a member of an NGO that's working at the Loi camp.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court ordered the Uttar Pradesh government, headed by Akhilesh Yadav, to urgently provide medical facilities and health care. The judges cited media reports which have alleged that 50 children have died in a month in relief camps.
At Loi, the nearest health camp is a 10-minute walk away. It has a doctor, three assistants, a few nurses and one ambulance. Children and pregnant women are given check-ups here. The lines are long. The staff works long hours, but it's never enough.
Kaushal Raj, the district magistrate, says more help is on its way. "We will send 800 blankets within the next 24 hours. Health camps will not only examine children but also check up on pregnant women. We are also trying to re locate people to a nearby college so that they can be indoors to escape the chill of the winter nights. "
Shezad does not seem reassured. Tonight will be another spent awake watching over his wife and their unwell son.
Here is how you can help:
Join the blanket collection drive by NDTV and Uday Foundation for Muzaffarnagar relief camps.
Drop relief material at:
NDTV,
Archana Complex,
Greater Kailash I,
New Delhi- 110048
Or
Uday Foundation,
113 A/1, Adhchini,
New Delhi- 110017
Phone: 011-26561333