A massive fire in a Jhuggi Basti in Jai Hind Camp of Masoodpur area near Vasant Kunj, Delhi, caused havoc. Seven hundred jhuggies out of estimated 1000 jhuggies were destroyed by the devastating fire. Twenty persons sustained minor burn injuries. About 3,500 people were affected. The loss of properties in the burnt out jhuggies was total and nothing usable could be had after the fire was doused. The fire was reported at 8:30 AM on 25 April and it took 27 fire tenders more than three hours to douse it.
Most of the residents of the jhuggies are Bangla-speaking Muslims engaged in small time manual jobs including scrap dealings. Immediate relief was brought by the government and non-government organisations and local area residents. The government provided medical relief; Sikh NGOs provided food and local residents brought clothes for the victims.
Volunteers of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Delhi & Haryana Zone, reached the place and did on-the-spot survey to assess immediate needs. They found that the affected people needed utensils and other cooking wares. The Jamaat distributed 300 kitchen kits and is further providing 400 such kits. It was praiseworthy on the part of the fire victims that they cooperated in the entire relief operation so that the volunteers could do their work in an orderly manner. They are basically hard working people who have commenced erecting their places of abode by arranging bamboos and other material.
