More than a week after large-scale communal clashes broke out in North East Delhi, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday visited violence-affected areas to take stock of relief operations, PTI reported.
In a press conference later, Sisodia said 79 houses and 327 shops were torched in the violence. He added that 168 houses suffered substantial damage due to the arson.
“Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and ministers of Delhi government are on the ground,” Sisodia said. “Damage assessment is being done by 18 teams headed by SDMs [sub-divisional magistrates].”
The deputy chief minister added that the government has so far distributed Rs 25 lakh as ex gratia. “Those whose documents have been burnt should approach SDM offices as soon as possible,” he said. “Students who have lost their study material in arson will be helped.”
The paramilitary forces on Tuesday continued to conduct flag marches and authorities said no fresh incidents of violence were reported.Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam visited Ganga Vihar and directed officials to speed up the process of releasing compensation to victims.
Meanwhile, the police held meetings with residents in Jafrabad, Maujpur, Babarpur, Chand Bagh, Shiv Vihar, Bhajanpura, Yamuna Vihar and Mustafabad. A team of the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights visited relief camps to assess the condition of children there.
Aam Aadmi Party MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj said if people find hate messages on social media they can complain on the WhatsApp number 8950000946 or email at dvscommittee@delhigov.in. Bharadwaj is the chairperson of Delhi Assembly’s committee on “Peace and Harmony”.
He added that peace meetings in six Assembly constituencies of North East Delhi would be held on Thursday. Local religious leaders and MLAs would participate in these meetings.
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament and said those responsible for the violence in the national Capital should not be spared.
The violence last week claimed 47 lives and injured over 200 people. It had started with clashes between supporters of the Citizenship Amendment Act and those who opposed it. The law makes undocumented, non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan eligible for Indian citizenship. Critics fear that together with a proposed countrywide National Register of Citizens, the new law could used as a tool to harass Indian Muslims.
The Delhi government has faced criticism for its handling of the relief and rehabilitation efforts after violence subsided. On Monday, Scroll.in visited three of the nine relief camps announced by the government, and found not a single violence-affected family there. Eight of them are essentially night shelters run by the government.
Also read: She escaped mobs but could not save her home – and Delhi government was nowhere to offer her shelter
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