City Mayor’s visit a mere photo op, say residents

Gurdeep Singh Mann

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, February 18

The visit of the Bathinda Mayor to a couple’s house which was reduced to ashes in a fire on Thursday did not went down well with residents of 25-gaz (25-yard) houses adjoining Dhobiana today.

The residents said Mayor Balwant Rai Nath’s visit was not more than a photo op as the elected representative refused to provide a single penny to the victim family.

The house of Rajinder Mandal and Ranjana Devi was burnt in a fire erupted in their one-room house following a short-circuit in the electric meter.

“We are left with only clothes which we were wearing and everything else, including electric goods, food, cash, documents and our lifelong savings, got damaged in the fire,” said a wailing Ranjana Devi, who could not sleep since Thursday.

The residents said the couple’s one-and-a-half-year-old baby was also unwell since the tragedy struck the poor family. While the woman used to do menial jobs in houses, her husband was a labourer.

“We thought the Mayor would release at least Rs 10,000, but he did not paid a single penny and left the spot after getting his pictures clicked which would be uploaded on his accounts of social networking sites,” said Vimla, a resident of the area.

She said the Mayor, however, noted down the names and occupation of the victims on a paper and assured to take up the matter with the district administration. He also claimed to have spoken to an ADC in this regard, but to no avail.

“Our Aadhaar card, birth-certificates, jewellery and clothes include the things that were destroyed in the fire. Now, we are homeless and suffering from fever and cold,” said Ranjana.

She said a city doctor came to meet them in the evening and provided some used warm clothes, a casserole and a set of six bowls.

She said some good samaritans and an NGO, Sarbat Da Bhala, also came forward to help them in getting free food for 15 days and promised to get the damaged house reconstructed but no help from the government arrived so far.

“Lachhman Singh, an official, asked us to fill a form on Monday for the reconstruction of their house,” she said.

Though Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori promised to send the secretary of the Red Cross to the place, nothing happened so far, the residents said.

When Mayor Balwant Rai Nath was contacted over the phone, his Personal Assistant  said: “Mayor Saab don’t have any kind of funds for such people, but we have asked the district administration to help the family.”