New homes, new homeless

Bordering Delhi with Haryana, Bawana is often or only heard during elections or when one talks about the Commonwealth Games 2010 beautification drive, when the slum dwellers of Yamuna Pushta were relocated to Bawana. After years of life in shanties, some people in Bawana have been able to move into pukka houses. In the midst of the shanties that fill the area one can see some concrete homes with white washed walls with name plates against them. Among 22,000 slum dwellers who were relocated, 1, 732 get homes constructed for them.

But the phenomenon of slum dwelling cannot be curtailed here. One slum falls and a new one starts building itself just adjoining the last. Government of India alloted land to 22,000 families on which they built slums. In continuation the society stands helpless for those who are still landless and continue to build slums around the area.

One of the residents, Roshan Ara tells Metrolife, “Over 600 people from Yamuna Pushta have not been alloted land. They continue to live in slums. Also family members of those who could not fit into the new homes have built their slums here.”

As homes are built, people face crisis of occupation and medical facilities. The residents also dis Bawana for its high rate of crime, communal tension, dengue and dirt.

Another resident, Farzana 50, tells Metrolife, “There is no place to look for work. Older women are not given work in factories here. Going outside of Bawana for work is like going to another city, I also have to come back to cook for my kids.”

As far as Farzana remembers, when she landed in Bawana in 2004, it had nothing but tall weeds everywhere. She says, “We had land but no money to build a house.” Today Bawana is divided into three districts, Bawana JJ Colony, Industrial Area and Village. Mostly people sustain their families by finding work in Bawana Industrial Area. It has manufacturing factories of food, beverage, plastics etc.

Husn Ara says, “In a month our family makes Rs 5, 000, not more than that. In Yamuna Pushta I worked as a women’s counsellor in Centre for Sociological Research.”

Farzana and Husn Ara are amongst the 1, 732 who have their homes built by Robin Raina Foundation. The foundation is run by a NRI philanthropist Robin Raina, who is the CEO of a billion dollar company Ebix (one of the largest software outsourcing companies in the world), in United States. Raina tells Metrolife, “I built the homes wholly through my efforts with no collaboration with government.”

Raina says that his aim was 6, 000 homes, but may extend it as many more will still remain homeless. He has made phenomenal contributions of the same nature worldwide.

Another resident Machla Devi says, “Having a home is where one can start thinking about life. Earlier we faced slum fires every month, even twice a month. My daughter died in one of the fires. These fires are because of municipal hazards. One jhopdi catches fire and all adjoining jhopdis are burnt down within minutes.”

According to Devi one can only begin to think of education and occupation when they have a roof over their head. “Now we can send our children to school. We lock the doors and give them the keys so that they can come inside after school. In shanties you don’t have locks,” says Devi.

The homes by Raina are duplex, with a cable connection, cooking gas, and a sustainable space for four. As an imperative measure, Raina has also found RRF Educational and Children Development Centre, which accommodates all slum children and their family members and also offers tailoring centres for women.

Arjun Sarkar, project manager at RRF learning centre says, “This school was there in Yamuna Pushta also till 2003. We shifted the school here right after relocation. This initiative ensures a future for the families who live in Bawana.”