Hapless families living in the Shahbad Dairy area of outer Delhi have started to feed their children and women meagre dinners to avoid any chance of them leaving home late at night to relieve themselves in the nearby wooded area.
The 500-odd families living in the area have no toilet facilities and the residents are forced to use the nearby jungle as their toilet. But after a series of reports of children going missing in the area and women being molested, the residents have come up with the unique solution to tackle the problem.
Ram Singh, whose 13-year-old daughter was raped in the nearby jungle, has stopped feeding his other children after dark. “I know that not eating is bad and in their growing years children should be given a wholesome diet, but what can we do. Our children complain that men attack them when they go to the forest.”
Children complain that they are not able to sleep properly as they are hungry in the night. “Khaana khaate hain toh mummy daanti hai, thoda bahut khaate hai. Paani bhi nahi pite (My mother scolds me as soon as I eat something after dark. I eat very little and don’t even drink water),” said 15-year-old Asha.
“My younger brother used to accompany me to the nearby jungle, but he was kidnapped a few weeks ago. What to do We have no option,” said a despondent Asha.
More than 60 children are untraced since they went missing in the area. Parents of these missing children are encouraging others not to feed their kids as a precautionary measure. “Ab kya kare, humara bacha to nahi aaya (What to do now Our boy hasn’t returned home till now),” said mother of a 10-year-old boy, who went missing in 2015.
Some families have instructed their children and women that if they must go at night, someone must accompany them.
Despite two years of the Centre’s Swachchh Bharat Abhiyan, these families, living less than 30 km from the city’s power corridors, have no toilet facilities available to them and the families are forced to keep their children and women hungry in order to keep them safe.
Hopefully, with government agencies working towards making the area free of open defecation, the area’s children and women will be able sleep with a full stomach. When that will happen is a question in search of a nightly answer.
Shahbad Dairy No toilet for over 500 families More than 66 children are untraceable since last two years There are more than 50 registered molestation cases
