350 slum dwellers get flats, some break down

The Delhi government allotted flats to 350 slum dwellers here on Monday, with some of the recipients breaking down as they realized an impossible dream had come true.

The slum dwellers had lived for decades at a shanty called Nehru Camp in east Delhi's Patparganj area. The flats which came their way are built at Sector 16B of Dwarka in west Delhi, many miles away.

Despite being ejected from an area which they had got used to, there was visible joy as Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia gave them allotment letters for the one-bed room flats constructed by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB).

Many slum dwellers could not hide their emotions.

"My jhuggi was bulldozed thrice by the authorities. I was compelled to live on the highway with my small kids... my household goods were stolen. I can't forget those days," recalled a sobbing Mohammad Yasin.

"This is a great favour the Delhi government has done by giving us flats at a new and better place," he added.

Yasin had lived in Nehru Camp since 1997.

Another emotionally charged slum dweller added: "I never thought I will ever be able to give a pucca house to my children."

Sisodia said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government was committed for the betterment of people living in slums.

"This is the sixth (slum) residents being rehabilitated peacefully. I promise you all a better life ahead," he said.

"It is our responsibility to get the students studying in schools here (in east Delhi) admitted to schools in the new place," Sisodia said.

--IANS

am/mr