Neighbours reach out to camp residents

Shocked dwellers spent night on the streets; Good Samaritans brought food for them

Picking up the pieces: The street that caught fire in Sriniwaspuri on Sunday evening.

Recalling the Sunday night when Sriniwaspuri’s JJ camp caught fire, residents claimed no one entered their houses in the street which was up in flames. “ Kal raat kisi ke ghar chulha nahi jala yahan [No one cooked on Sunday night],” said Radhey Shyam, a resident, on Monday.

Absolute chaos

The locals said they all spent the night on the road outside the camp. Everyone reached out to help one another.

Mr. Shyam said there was absolute chaos and people were scared.

“Some people parcelled food, and some Good Samaritans from the neighbouring camp cooked dinner for us,” he said.

No one cooked

It was around 4 a.m., when people, still scared, slowly started entering their houses. “Even till morning, no one struck a matchstick fearing it might lead to a fire,” he said.

On Monday, however, local leaders arranged food for the residents of the camp.

“We arranged for the ambulances to take them to the hospital and ordered food for a couple of hundred people. It’s been tough for them,” said Sanjay Singh, a social worker.