Teesta demands dignified living for 2002 carnage survivors

Ahmedabad, Nov 19 (UNI) Citizens for Justice and Peace, an NGO, has appealed the Ahmedabad district collector to provide healthy and dignified living conditions for the 2002 Gujarat carnage survivors, presently living in rehabilitation colonies.

Addressing reporters after submitting a memorandum to the collector Dhananjay Dwivedi, its secretary Teesta Setalvad said those staying in the rehabilitation centres are facing perennial problem of acute unhygenic conditions which included unsafe water with impossible degrees of salinity, no sewerage, no health facilities and no schooling.

She said the collector gave a patient hearing and informed the NGO that a project report had already been submitted to the government a few days back, but due to the code of conduct prevailing in view of the assembly elections, the implementation of the report has been delayed.

Ms Setalvad alleged that problems of the victims have increased and the politicians had virtually stopped taking cognisance of their plight.

She alleged that due to acute unhygienic conditions, a 13-year-old boy, Riaz Muzaffar, from the Citizens Nagar locality here had died ten days back of kidney failure owing to the high salinity in the water.

The administration should provide basic amenities like proper street-lights, sewerage, approach roads, regular health check-ups, education and a mobile creche for infants, Ms Setalvad said.

She also claimed the NGO volunteers had visited villages in Ahmedabad, Panchmahal and Dahod districts to understand the problems of the victims. ''In our survey, we found that the justice process is variegated and tardy. Over 83 complaints will be taken up by us on loan refusals by banks even after the scrutiny of the state industrial departments,'' she said.

UNI