Image courtesy: relief volunteers
The massive flames can be seen consuming the fragile structures in a matter of minutes, even as a fire engine is heard in the background. The fire on Wednesday lit up the night sky at Ferozepur Namak village in Nuh, Haryana as it reduced the ‘homes’ of Rohingya refugees who had camped there. By the time dawn broke all that was visible were the ashes that remained. Scores of children and their families have spent the bitterly cold night and morning in the open. According to news reports the fire station in-charge of Nuh, Sahoon, said, “Three fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the fire was controlled within two hours. Prima facie, a short circuit of a wire in shanties is suspected to be the cause, but it is subject to investigation.”
Volunteers of Miles2smile foundation, an NGO who rushed from Delhi confirmed that the fire has gutted 32 shanties at the Rohingya’s Chandeni camp 2 in Nuh. It has rendered homeless over 100 people. They took woollen blankets, arranged drinking water, and food, and are now arranging to supply essentials to the families who have lost all their meagre belongings.
Indian Express quoted Jaffarullah from the Rohingya Human Rights Initiative, confirming that as per eyewitnesses, people raised alarm and ran out in chaos. While no one was injured “102 people, including children, who stay in the camp have been displaced.” They were given “temporary accommodation in a school and nearby houses for the night”
However the organisation has confirmed that, “This is the third fire incident this year at a Rohingya refugee camp, following a fire incident in June in Delhi where 55 families lost their shelters and later in Jammu.” Volunteers helping with the relief efforts also wondered if there was a pattern to such incidents of fire in Rohingya refugee campsites. In June, a massive fire broke out at a Rohingya refugee camp in Southeast Delhi’s Kalindi Kunj. It reduced 56 shanties to ashes and left over 300 people homeless.
According to news reports, the fire department officials stated that the Nuh fire was reported around 7:50 P.M on Wednesday, and while three fire tenders were sent to the spot, “all the shanties were completely gutted, as the fire spread in shanties made of bamboo and plastic material.” It has been reported that the district authorities said they will arrange “temporary accommodation for the displaced families”. The fire department stated that “prima facie, a short circuit of a wire in shanties is suspected to be the cause,” but added that this is “subject to investigation.”
News reports quoted Shakti Singh, Deputy Commissioner, Nuh, saying that the administration had arranged for temporary accommodation for the affected families in nearby houses and shanties and arranged blankets and food. Singh told reporters, “At least 28-30 huts were completely burnt. The fire was doused and controlled in an hour. No loss of life has been reported. All 102 people living in the camp have been accounted for. We have made temporary arrangements for shelter for the affected families and distributed blankets, dry ration kits and arranged food. Some people are staying in houses across the road so they can retrieve their lost household essentials. We have stationed police personnel and volunteers at the campsite and an ambulance has also been stationed at the spot for contingencies.”
Important to recall that Nuh, is a communally sensitive area
Though not directly connected to the fire in the Rohingya camp, it is important to recall that Nuh, a district in Haryana in the region of Mewat is a communally sensitive area. Recent meetings called by right wing groups called “Hindu Mahapanchayat ” at Indri (Nuh), Haryana had Suraj Pal Amu of Karni Sena, who is Bharatiya Janata Party’s spokerman in Haryana, call Muslims, killers, accusing the community of targeting Hindu women and called for the crowds to “respond”.
He justified the killings, especially validating the murder of 27-year-old Asif Khan. His family alleged he was abducted, asked to chant Hindu chants that had been turned into war cries by Hindutva mobs, and then beaten to death on May 6. His death had led to an escalation in communal tensions in the region. Amu’s hate speech against Muslims was received with applause by the large gatherings.
On August 10, the government informed the Lok Sabha, that some Rohingya migrants have been indulging in illegal activities, without specifying the said reports or the kind of alleged illegal activity. The Minister of State in the Home Ministry, Nityanand Rai added that all foreign nationals who enter into the country without valid travel documents are treated as illegal migrants. His answer read, “There are reports about some Rohingya migrants indulging in illegal activities.”
He was asked questions by Lok Sabha members Ranjanben Dhananjay Bhatt and Sanjay Kaka Patil about the current situation of the Rohingya Muslims living illegally in various parts of the country along with the number of Rohingyas who are in the country with the United Nations refugee cards.In its written response, the MHA said that the Central Government has issued instructions to State Governments and Union Territory administrations advising them to sensitise the law enforcement and intelligence agencies for taking appropriate steps for prompt identification of illegal migrants, their restriction to specified locations as per provisions of law.
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