No end in sight to woes of displaced slum dwellers

FLOOD-RAVAGED slum dwellers at the Old Yamuna bridge are staring at a bleak future even though the Yamuna is showing a receding trend in the national capital.

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Battling the loss of lives and property coupled with the absence of basic facilities, the slum residents are making rounds of the district administration offices to provide them with something as fundamental as sanitation and electricity. Shakuruddin, who spent every penny from his savings to buy books for his LLB entrance examination, is devastated as all his textbooks and bags got washed away in the floods.

“My father is a rickshaw-puller and my mother works as house help. I want to pursue law and had saved up to buy books for the entrance test. All my books and copies got washed away in the flood and that is my biggest concern right now,” the class 12 government school student said. “My brother is in class 11. Even his bags and books got washed away. Thankfully, we were able to save our identity proofs and documents,” he added.