Muslim Localities Lack Basic Amenities but Police Stations Everywhere: Report

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‘The areas have become ghettos, not created by Muslims but by the state; they are political creations’

Waquar Hasan | Clarion India

NEW DELHI – Muslim neighbourhoods like Jamia Nagar in Delhi’s Okhla constituency lack basic amenities like drinking water, schools, electricity, health facilities, and public infrastructure but the localities have several police stations and booths, noted a report.

In the run-up to the assembly elections in the national capital, a report “Segregated Citizens: The Lack of Civil Amenities in the Muslim Majority Parts of Delhi” sheds light on the poor condition of Muslim neighbourhoods Zakir Nagar and Abul Fazal Enclave. The report was released by the SPECT Research Association in Jamia Nagar on Monday.

It highlights why these areas, with a large concentration of Muslims, have become ghettos for the community. These localities have seen development deficits forcing the residents to struggle for civic amenities. Being unauthorised colonies, overpopulation, issue of waste disposal, electricity and drinking water issues, flooding and waterlogging, lack of schools, health facilities, public infrastructure and increasing state surveillance and coercive apparatus are major drawbacks in these areas.

Speaking on the issue, senior journalist Prashant Tandon said the issue of the ghettos is not only a civic problem but also a political one.

“These ghettos were not created by Muslims but by the state. These ghettos are made by the state; they are political creations. These ghettos came into being after largely anti-Muslim riots in the country,” he said.

Tandon pointed out that for the first time, ghettos of Jews were created in Europe. “The irony is that when the Jews got a country, they created ghettos for Muslims,” he said.

“Ghettos were created due to political persecution when a sense of insecurity was created among a particular community. Lack of civic amenities is also there in several areas like Trilokpuri, Mandawali and Ashok Nagar, but these areas are not ghettos. The issues there are due to poverty and the absence of a development paradigm. They are not due to political persecution,” he said.

Elaborating on how Jamia Nagar has become a ghetto, the report pointed out three major incidents of communal violence which contributed to the migration of Muslims in the neighbourhood: The 1992 communal violence after Babri Masjid’s demolition, the 2002 anti-Muslim carnage in Gujarat and the 2020 northeast Delhi riots.

“The influx of Muslims to this area is currently ongoing. This started with the 2020 violence in northeast Delhi wherein more than 53 people died with two-thirds of them being Muslims according to official records. This led to the sudden influx of Muslims from mixed neighbourhoods to ‘safe’ areas like Jamia Nagar. The amount and nature of influx can be gauged by the changes in the rent and property rates in this area,” noted the report.

Therefore, the area is overpopulated. According to the report, these two wards under study in the Okhla constituency now comprise a population that is far from the average population per ward (as per the Ministry of Home Affairs guidelines) — 65,679 — and the permissible deviation of plus or minus 10% from this figure. The permissible upper limit of the population per ward is 72,246 and the lower is 59,111. However, the other three wards either come under the permissible limit or are marginally above it. On the other hand, out of the total 250 wards, 138 wards have a population below the permissible lower limit.    

The conflict between the Delhi and Uttar Pradesh governments about the jurisdiction over the area has also affected road construction, maintenance of the sewage system and other development projects.

“One major problem in the region is irregular cleaning and disposal of waste, which results in waste accumulation that is highly unhygienic and results in contamination and health hazards. Because of the influx and overpopulation, the total waste produced in this area is much more than other areas of Delhi,” the report said.

On the issue of potable water, the report said in the whole of Okhla the supply of drinking water is erratic and insufficient. In most areas, drinking water still does not come through the water supply lines of the MCD. In a few areas like Zakir Nagar, around Khaliullah Masjid and Okhla Gaon there are old supply lines. The rest of the places access drinking water through boring. There is an acute water shortage during summers when the groundwater dips and the residents remain dependent on water supplied by tankers.

When it comes to schools, there are only 9 MCD-run primary schools that come under these two wards. However, in terms of physical structures there are only five schools under these wards, four out of five schools run in morning and evening shifts, for girls and boys respectively teaching both Hindi and Urdu medium students, thus accounting for a total of nine primary schools.

There is a lack of mohalla clinics as per the population of the area and there is no hospital. Construction of a hospital was initiated but it will take years to complete it.

Journalist Tandon and former member of the Planning Commission Syeda Hameed lauded the report while urging the government to chalk out policies taking the report into account.

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