Ayesha Begum, 45, had lost her house twice in river erosion in her home district Bhola but she did not give up. The mother of four moved to Dhaka in 2004 with her children and husband. They have been living in a room in Block 8 of Kallyanpur slum.
But fate has been cruel to Ayesha. She lost everything once again yesterday after a fire ravaged the slum. Her physically challenged husband Jamal Miah and two sons, aged between nine and 12, were unharmed as they were not home at that time. Ayesha’s daughters were also married off several years ago.
The fire came a day after the High Court ordered the government to halt an eviction drive at the slum that houses around 20,000 people. Ayesha and many of her neighbours alleged the ruling party activists were behind the fire.
A woman claimed a group of men had barged into her house and set it on fire. “They were donning the same red bandana that workers of Housing and Public Works Ministry, who took part in Thursday’s eviction drive, had,” she alleged. At least 70 to 80 shanties were burnt in Block 8 of the slum.
“River erosion took away everything from me twice but now the government has made me homeless again. I lost all my savings in the fire,” Ayesha said.
For most, the slum was the only home left. Many had its address in their national ID cards as well.
“Allah will not tolerate this injustice,” said one Hasina, who lost everything in the fire.
