It’s raining woes in Garib Nagar

With the Friday's fire having destroyed everything it could at Garib nagar (slums), Bandra (East), except for their lives, it's raining woe for the slum dwellers. The lack of physiological needs like food, clothing, shelter, water and sleep stare them in the face. Except for maybe Rubina Ali of the Slumdog Millionaire fame, who may move to her posh flat, the over 50,000 fire affected are left homeless, pensive about fulfilling their needs. In fact, the slum dwellers, including minors, prefer to live in unsteady structures, where a collapse may cause fatal casualties, said a volunteer.

" The water supply is cut off. NGOs, Mumbaikars, religious and political communities, a news channel are providing us with eatables, water, clothes and first aid. But, for how long? After a few days, the lack of these elementary needs shall haut us," said another local.

Mohammad Sikander (32), one of the affected resident who has been living there for the last decade, claims to have lost property worth Rs 2 lakh. " I lost everything. I have three school- going children. On Tuesday morning, we have been called to a nearby municipal school to get our compensation, which is around Rs 5, 000." " There are two tubelights erected near the station which are surely not enough for the entire slum area. With all the 12 toilets in our slum area destroyed, there are two mobile toilets provided to us by the BMC, which have run out of water within hours. While women are using a couple of public lavatories for Rs 3 each, men are forced to use the ground behind the slum," added another local.

Amjad Shaikh (24), a tailor said, " I live here on rent, I may or may not get this compensation of Rs 5,000. But, I have lost property worth Rs 2.5 lakh which includes 16 sewing machines. My house and business is destroyed, where do I go?" In the last two days, doctors, including senior doctor Armida Fernandez along with Dr Ramesh Potdar and four others, provided medical aid to around 200 people from 10am to 7pm. Indicating the total absence of an effective crisis management, a doctor said on condition of anonymity, " Proper toilets, clean water supply, garbage disposal and proper distribution of food, clothing and water is the need of the hour. These things will lead to an outbreak of cholera and diarrhoea in no time." Another person along with the doctors said, a truckload of hand gloves would help, as there were enough locals to volunteer for removing the garbage.

" The spectrum seen is 80 per cent of these suffered minor wound injuries, rest 20 per cent being headaches, backaches, respiratory problems and anxiety (about their future)," said Fernandez.

Potdar of Centre for Study of Social Change, which runs one such centre in 20 slums across the city, said, " Many dwellers do not know what we are doing here." Before
this, there was a major fire in adjacent Behrampada slums, around two years ago. Locals said, back then too the cause of fire never came to light.