Muzaffarnagar riot refugees build homes

ALIGARH: After spending two to three years in relief camps, over 130 families affected by the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots have finally got a new address as they hope to restart life by building new homes at ‘Yeh Mera Ghar’ colonies in Kandhla and Kairana. The Uttar Pradesh government had given victims a compensation of Rs 5 lakh, with which some families bought plots of land adjoining each other. Each family was also given Rs 1.95 lakh for construction material. Most of the work, from digging the foundation to laying the bricks and putting the cement on them was done by the families. Sadbhavana Trust, Lucknow, Vanangana from Chitrakoot and Delhi-based activist Farah Naqvi were core partners in this relief effort and invited Hunnarshala Foundation from Kutch, Gujarat, to assist the construction work. “I was at Juala camp for two years and came here every day to build a two-room house. My son, Mohammad Munawwar, 22, wanted blue, pink and green colours for the house. I couldn’t say no. After all, we were getting a roof over our heads for the first time in three years,” said Hadeesa Bi, originally from Hasanpur in Muzaffarnagar.