Homeless slum dwellers seek district admn’s help

Gurvinder Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 25

Several slum dwellers today visited the office of the Deputy Commissioner and sought help as over 25 slum dwellings of theirs got burnt in Jassiyan village of Haibowal around four days back.

“The incident happened when one us was cooking a meal on wood fire. The cloth shed caught fire and it soon spread to 25 of the slum dwellings. Though nobody got injured, but we are left with absolutely nothing, except the clothes we are wearing,” says Salia Devi, one of the slum dwellers. “Our children are hungry for the past four days, and we have nothing to eat or wear,” she added. In fact, many of them are suffering from fever and are sick, she said.

Nito Paswan, another slum dweller, said most of the slum dwellers were daily wagers and had been living in those slums for the past 25 years. “We are already impoverished, living hand to mouth. But now, even that meagre way to sustain our lives is gone. All our identify cards and certificates, clothes, etc got charred,” he added.

“I hope the district administration will find a way to help us rebuild our lives,” one of them said.