Residents of Rangpuri Pahari Basti on Monday complained that there is no proper toilet and water supply in the area, forcing them to practice open defecation.
Siblings Anand, 7, and Aditya, 5, were allegedly attacked by stray dogs within a span of two days in a slum cluster near Vasant Kunj. While Anand was killed on Friday and his body was found in a forest adjacent to the slum cluster, Aditya succumbed to his injuries on Sunday after he was attacked when he went to relieve himself near the bushes.
According to Salim Khan, founder of Little India Foundation, an NGO, the slums The (huts) do not have adequate water supply and sufficient space to build washrooms. Mr Khan, who has been teaching children in the area for a few years, said his students are forced to go to the forest to defecate.
Manoj Kumar, 15, said, “Whenever I go to the forest, I am scared to go alone. There are no street lights and the area is full of all kinds of animals.” He said that the women of the area find it difficult to go out at night. “Every time they have to go out for defecation, the male members have to accompany them.”
In 2019, on the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared the country open defecation free. However, residents of Rangpuri Pahari Basti said they did not have toilets despite repeated requests. He claimed that he has made several requests to the local MLA and the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) to put up fencing in the area to restrict the movement of stray cattle. However, nothing has been done so far, he said.
When contacted, SDM Vinay Kumar Jindal did not comment. But MLA Bhupinder Singh Joon said that the fence was already in place. “In fact, the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board has installed toilets in the area much earlier,” he said. The residents denied the claim of toilets and said that only a small portion is fenced.