Delhi Government: Do What We Elected You To Do!

Our fellow citizens in Northeast Delhi are in urgent need of support: food, shelter, clothes, medicine. Some NGOs and individuals are providing what help they can. But where is the Delhi government? It is the civic duty of the government to provide the large-scale relief that people desperately need – and which cannot be replicated by the voluntary efforts of civil society groups. These include

• Proper relief camps rather than ill equipped shelter homes for a large number of people, able to provide food, clean water, sanitation, clothes.
• A 24-hour well-serviced health outpost, and safe private spaces for women and children.
• Kits, standardized by humanitarian agencies, that include sets of clothes and underwear, toiletries, sanitary napkins, milk powder and other necessary items.

The Delhi government has promised compensation and assistance with papers. But this does not offer immediate and basic support to alleviate the suffering of the people. In addition to basics such as food, shelter and medical attention, our brothers and sisters in Northeast Delhi also require emotional, financial and legal support. We appeal to the Delhi government to ensure

• Legal assistance posts with trained lawyers, supported by law students equipped to file urgent missing person reports, as well as individual FIRs for each episode of violence.
• Replacement of documents destroyed, such as Aadhar cards, voters’ cards or ration cards, other official documents without cost.
• Rescheduling of the CBSE examinations for children who could not appear in the examination.

We call on the Delhi government to do what we so recently elected them to do. To fulfill their promise of serving the people – especially those who are today living in fear and need in their own city.

Read the statement in Hindi here.