Last Muzaffarnagar camp vacated, 483 families move out

Hounded by biting cold and urgings by senior district officials, as many as 483 riot-hit families camping in Loi village on Tuesday left for "safer places".

There are no more relief camps left in Muzaffarnagar district, while neighbouring Shamli has four camps. According to District Magistrate Koshal Raj Sharma, who was camping in Loi village since morning, "420 families were shifted during the day while remaining 63 left in evening to safer places".

Principal secretary of the UP health department, Paveen Kumar also visited the camp on Tuesday. Kumar also went to the four camps in Shamli to check the arrangement of medical facilities in camps.

The departing families were provided with ration for 10 days and they will also be given medical facilities and security, the DM said.

There were more than 510 families living in the Loi camp after the riots broke out in August. According to a high-level committee constituted by UP government, at least 34 children below the age of 12 years had perished in the relief camps in the Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts.

The Union Home ministry has asked the state government about the number of children who have died so far at the relief camps in western Uttar Pradesh, the reasons for the deaths and the steps taken to prevent further casualties.

Over 60 people were killed and thousands left homeless during the riots in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas in September.