Friday 31 October 2014

Normalcy slowly returning to Trilokpuri

Eight days after an alleged fight between inebriated youngsters escalated into clashes, Trilokpuri largely offers a sight of reassurance with signs of normalcy, barring fleeting moments of disquiet and suspicion. During the day as prohibitory orders are relaxed in the East Delhi locality, a steady stream of buyers throng the mobile stalls set up by Delhi government selling essential items including vegetables and dairy products. Local grocery, garment and pharmacy shops are also gradually opening shutters.
In front of one such mobile stall, Meena, a resident of Block 20 asks, "Aloo aur tomato kitne ke de rahe ho bhai? (How much are the potatoes and tomatoes for?)" and a group of women adds voice, almost in unison. The vendor says that the demand is quite high pointing towards a van which was emptied during the day. "We are selling tomatoes for Rs 16/Kg and potatoes for Rs 27/Kg and around 10 vehicles have been deputed to different blocks throughout the locality."
At the pharmacy of Pradip Kumar Roy, known as 'Bangali doctor' among the locals, people wait patiently as he attends to a patient. "Although I was not present during the violence I can assure you that the locality will soon be back to complete normalcy. I know the residents quite well and as you can see amity has already returned," says Roy.
But with curfew-like restrictions reinstated as evening descends, roads become largely deserted and a deathly silence looms over the neighbourhood. Every few moments, patrol cars of the Delhi Police zip past flashing their customary red and blue lights, almost blinding in the darkness. Around that time, a string of devotees, largely composed of women, gather in front of a place of worship and offer prayers to the deity with few policemen loitering around.
Few blocks away, in Block 15, 14-year-old Abdul Majid is trying to make sense of the fast paced developments around him which have left him with a broken hand and landed his father Mohammed Akhtar in Tihar Jail. "On Saturday afternoon, a group of policemen and men in blue uniform (presumably RAF) dragged my father away and when I tried to stop them they pushed me," says Majid as his mother shows around their tiny two room settlement.
Residents say that Block 15 was one of the worst affected. Arun Kumar, standing at the entrance of Block 15, says they are at "the mercy of God". Tarsem Singh, 60, who stays in the area accuses the media of being biased. "They come and go one after another but no one raises voice for us so there is no point in talking to the media. Will you write that even gun shots were fired?" he asks.
C Adhikeshavan, a lawyer and a member of the Peace Committee, was hurriedly pacing up and down the lanes, assuring the residents of safety.
Offering a "balanced" assessment of the situation, he says that while the immediate trigger might have been the drunken brawl involving few teenagers, there were other reasons also. Notwithstanding the volley of allegations and counter-allegations, Trilokpuri is slowly but surely limping back to life. The area is also grappling with huge dumps of garbage. In fact all of the garbage dumps in the locality are full and the streets are littered with garbage and of course, strewn with large pieces of stones, another telltale sign of the violence.

No comments:

Post a Comment