Kaithal victims wonder why they had to suffer so much : The Tribune India

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Haryana burning YEAR LATER PART-XI

Kaithal victims wonder why they had to suffer so much

KAITHAL: Hari Singh Saini was 17 when he started a bicycle puncture repair kiosk on the Ambala road in this town in 1999.

Kaithal victims wonder why they had to suffer so much

Rajinder Saini of Durga Sweet House narrates the incidents of February 22 last year. Tribune photo



Sushil Manav &Satish Seth

Tribune News Service

Kaithal, February 24

Hari Singh Saini was 17 when he started a bicycle puncture repair kiosk on the Ambala road in this town in 1999. Along with his younger brothers Kuldeep and Rajesh, Hari, now 35, had set up three shops – a cycle store, a general store and an eatery through hard labour of 18 years. Everything was going well till his dreams were reduced to ashes by a crowd of Jat agitators on the night of February 22 last year.

The protesters had cut shutters of his shops and after looting and ransacking these, they poured petrol on other belongings and set these afire.

“The government gave us a compensation of less than Rs 2 lakh for the three businesses, which was less than what our debtors owed to us not to speak of stock of over Rs 5 lakh. With our ledgers burnt in the fire, we have no account of the money people owed to us. None came forward to repay debts on one’s own. Our business has been reduced to less than one-fourth of what it was earlier due to lack of enough stocks. With fear of another violence lurking every month during the past one year, we cannot even think of adding stock by getting loan from somewhere,” adds Hari. Situated right opposite the SP’s residence on the Karnal road, Durga Sweet House is famous in the area for its scrumptious ‘samosas’ and ‘bread pakoras’.

With goodwill earned by its owner Rajinder Kumar Saini (55) over decades, customers virtually used to stand in queue to buy his sweets and ‘namkeens’. In four booths located adjacent to each other, Saini and his two brothers also ran catering business for weddings and other functions.

On the night of February 22, a mob of Jat protesters ransacked his shops, looted his belongings and smashed the furniture completely before attempting to set it on fire.

“I was so depressed by the incident that I almost decided to leave Kaithal for good with my family. However, some friends and relatives came forward with financial and emotional support and helped me re-establish my shops within the next three days,” he recalls.

Though his business resumed soon, it is pale shadow of what it was before the February 22 night.

“When people used to say that it is slump season, I used to wonder what it meant because queues of customers never ended outside my shops till then. Now, my business is hardly 40 per cent of what it was earlier,” he informs.

“At least half our clients, who booked us for weddings and those who came to our shops, used to be Jats. But after I restarted my business, messages were circulated on the social media asking Jats not to buy goods from our shops,” he adds.

“While we suffered losses of nearly Rs 4 to 5 lakh, we did not get any compensation from the government because our bankers had got insurance cover for us. But the insurance company said only sweets lying in our shop were insured and assessed the loss at Rs 50,000 only. Despite recommendations of Minister Nayab Singh Saini, the district authorities did not give any compensation to us,” complains Rajinder.

Both Hari and Rajinder wonder for what fault of theirs they have been punished by the rioters.

“If they were annoyed with some politician from our caste why did they punish us? They had their own calculations of votes, but our concern is limited to eking out a living for our families alone,” they say.

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