PIL in HC for food, medicines to people who lost homes to fire in south Delhi slum

A plea in the Delhi High Court has urged it to direct the Delhi government and its urban shelter improvement board, DUSIB, to provide food, medicines, clothing and compensation to residents of a slum at Noor Nagar here whose homes were burnt down in fire outbreak on April 14.

The plea, by three of the affected residents of the slum, has said that two fires broke out there in a gap of 20 minutes on April 14 afternoon and within minutes 60 homes, with all belongings and household items, were destroyed.

Some of the residents also lost their electric and cycle rickshaws, which were their source of livelihood, to the fire and therefore, they no longer even have the financial capacity to rebuild their lives, the plea, filed through advocates Haider Ali and Anupradha Singh, has claimed.

The petition has also claimed that the people living in the slum at Noor Nagar in south Delhi had migrated here around 15 years ago from Bihar, Bengal and Uttar Pradesh and have been living in the jhuggis for years now.

The plea has alleged that the government authorities have not provided any medical assistance to the injured and those affected were only provided temporary shelter at a nearby school, food and Rs 10,000 by the Waqf Board.

It has sought directions to the Delhi government and DUSIB to provide essential food items to the affected families, age-appropriate nutritious meals, conduct a survey of property damaged in the fire and to provide compensation as well as livelihood assistance to victims of the fire.