Boxed In, Residents Say No Water To Drink

In one fell swoop, hope and income sources wiped out

- Sakshi Chand & Abhay

Rihanna Bibi held up the documents in her hand, but the unhappy look on her face betrayed the fact that the papers did not help her prevent a sudden crisis in her life. The 41-year-old cast a mournful eye at the damaged cart outside her home in C Block in Jahangirpuri. The cart stood no chance against the mechanical ruthlessness of the earthmovers that the North Delhi Municipal Corporation employed to clear the street of encroachments on Wednesday. While the Supreme Court ordered a stay on the demolition drive on Thursday, residents like Bibi were left wondering how they would now survive and who would compensate them for the loss of livelihoods.

Bibi's husband, Sheikh Sharat, has diabetes and other health problems that prevent him from working, so she is the sole breadwinner of the family. Her sons stay separately, but she has three daughters, one of them married, to take care of. “We possess documents permitting use of our food cart since 2006. I sell poori sabji to earn for my family," sighed Bibi. "My cart was near the intersection and was damaged by the JCBs. I had taken a loan of Rs 2 lakh to build the steel cart and for some other things. Now I have a dreadful feeling that I will become a loan defaulter because I don't have the means of earning and repaying the loan. The only option now is to borrow money from friends and relatives and try and survive."