Dhobi Ghat , a slum area with a majority of muslim population , is situated on the bank of river Yamuna, near Batla House, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi with around 150 families. These families are mostly deprived and poor, surviving with low literacy rate, malnutrition, hunger and lack of sanitation.
Note: This is an excerpt. To read the whole article, please download the PDF file
Khudai Khidmatgar had organized a youth camp under the guidance of social activist Faisal Khan, with its objective of ‘service of God’ on 26th feb 2012 for the families of dhobi ghat. There were 20 volunteers in this campaign. I was one of them to experience the ground conditions of this area.
One of the most shocking facts discovered was that no civil society group/ government officials had ever visited them, even though this area is in the capital city and is situated near Jamia Nagar. How is it possible that NGOs who get crores of rupees to work in slum , to eradicate poverty, to fight with malnutrition, to raise voices for rights, to campaign for education etc; have never visited this area, I wondered.
My report here is dedicated to those people, with the hope that their condition will become better gradually through joint efforts of the government, civil society and their own. In my first sight of this area, I saw children playing, not with modern era toys, but with plastic bags immersed in waste, garbage of river etc.
____________________
Note: This is an excerpt. To read the whole article, please download the PDF file
Ravi Nitesh
ravinitesh (at) gmail.com
March 12, 2012