New Delhi: Pakistani Hindu refugees residing in Delhi say they can finally look forward to a secure future as the government notified rules for implementation of the CAA.
They claim they have been living in semi-kutcha houses, cooking in mud and brick stoves, and using tents for defecation in Majnu-Ka-Tilla area ever since they moved to India.
“I moved to India from Pakistan in 2011 and since then, we have not got even the basic facilities here, be it water, electricity or cooking gas,” voice of the Pakistani Hindu refugee community in Majnu-Ka-Tilla, Dharamveer Solanki said. “We are now getting water supply but there was a time when people had no access to water in this camp for at least four years. The refugees used to walk to the nearby areas to fetch water,” Solanki said.
“However, we are hopeful now that all our problems will be resolved and getting citizenship is the first step,” he added. The Centre on Monday implemented the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, notifying the rules four years after the law was passed by Parliament to fast-track citizenship for undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 2014. Recalling the hardships they faced in the last 13 years after moving to India, Pakistani Hindu refugee Sona Das said most people in their camp have been using mud, brick stoves for cooking purposes.