Donatello
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SAHARANPUR: It happened first in 1984. When Baljeet Chawla was a callow 17-year-old, he had started a small store with a partner selling electronic goods and home appliances. Within seven days of the launch, PM Indira Gandhi was assassinated and anti-Sikh riots enveloped parts of north India. The raiders ransacked his store.
Thirty years later, it happened again. On July 26, rioters plundered the store that had since doubled in size and was the town's go-to place for high-tech electronic items. This time, they didn't stop at pillage. They also burnt it down.
READ ALSO: Riot-hit Saharanpur prays for calm as bypoll looms
Barely 100 yards from Chawla's shop, Maulana Sayeed Ahmed sits near a mound of dark rubble - all that's left of Saharanpur Car Accessories. Speakers, converters, computers, ceiling fans - everything lies twisted and charred. Even a month later, the smell of burnt rubber and despair hangs thick. "I could see people looting my shop. I couldn't do anything," says Ahmed; his voice remarkably calm.
Earlier this year, Ahmed had sold his 30-bigha mango orchard and poured most of the money into building this shop that opened a fortnight before it was ravaged. Now, he consoles his daughters who wake up with a start at night and scream. One of them was going to be admitted to Glocal University. "But I am not sure if I can afford the Rs 1.5-lakh fee. Main veeran ho gaya (I am penniless)," Ahmed laments. Unlike Chawla, he has no insurance to fall back on.
Local industry sources estimate that goods and property worth Rs 50 crore were destroyed in the riots triggered by an inter-community dispute over a place of worship. "But the overall loss of business amounts to Rs 500 crore," says Sheetal Tandon, who represents a local industry and trade organization. At least 10 shopkeepers have lost property worth Rs 50 lakh or more; about 25 of them in the Rs 25 lakh-50 lakh category - the rest smaller shopkeepers, even thelawallahs. They are the worst-hit.
Saharanpur DM Inderbir Singh Yadav says 69 vehicles and 263 shops - big, small and tiny - were destroyed in the riots. "The consolidated list has been sent to the UP government for compensation. Because of the September 13 bypoll, we need Election Commission permission to disburse the amount. It's likely to come soon," he says.
Many businessmen insist their losses are severely undervalued. The government, some feel, is inclined towards compensating those without insurance. But those affected proffer that insurance payments never cover the entire loss and they should be adequately compensated.
Tailor Mohd Usman hadn't insured his small cubicle on the first floor of a run-down, Khalasi Lane shopping complex. The shop was torched. "Most of my customers are Hindus. But I got orders from Muslims too. Due to Eid, which was just three days away, I had plenty of work. Everything's gone. I have been set back by five years," he says as masons mend the damage.
Usman has taken Rs 40,000 loan and hopes the government will bail him out. "But I am wondering if my customers will return. They might think, let's go somewhere else, this guy's shop might get burnt again," he fears.
Riots destroy livelihoods; they also crush victims psychologically. Like Usman, most of them betray helplessness and uncertainty. "Is there any guarantee it won't happen again?" they wonder.
That's why after the riots, Chawla wanted to leave Saharanpur, a town that sheltered and nourished his family after it arrived from Lyallpur (now Islamabad) during Partition. But his son stopped him.
"He told me, the rioters took away your goods, burnt your shop. But they cannot take away the goodwill you have earned. He gave me the courage to stay on," says Chawla. "I'll put up a bigger and better showroom. That would be my answer to the rioters," he adds.
Source:-
Riot-hit Saharanpur businessmen pick up pieces - The Times of India
Thirty years later, it happened again. On July 26, rioters plundered the store that had since doubled in size and was the town's go-to place for high-tech electronic items. This time, they didn't stop at pillage. They also burnt it down.
READ ALSO: Riot-hit Saharanpur prays for calm as bypoll looms
Barely 100 yards from Chawla's shop, Maulana Sayeed Ahmed sits near a mound of dark rubble - all that's left of Saharanpur Car Accessories. Speakers, converters, computers, ceiling fans - everything lies twisted and charred. Even a month later, the smell of burnt rubber and despair hangs thick. "I could see people looting my shop. I couldn't do anything," says Ahmed; his voice remarkably calm.
Earlier this year, Ahmed had sold his 30-bigha mango orchard and poured most of the money into building this shop that opened a fortnight before it was ravaged. Now, he consoles his daughters who wake up with a start at night and scream. One of them was going to be admitted to Glocal University. "But I am not sure if I can afford the Rs 1.5-lakh fee. Main veeran ho gaya (I am penniless)," Ahmed laments. Unlike Chawla, he has no insurance to fall back on.
Local industry sources estimate that goods and property worth Rs 50 crore were destroyed in the riots triggered by an inter-community dispute over a place of worship. "But the overall loss of business amounts to Rs 500 crore," says Sheetal Tandon, who represents a local industry and trade organization. At least 10 shopkeepers have lost property worth Rs 50 lakh or more; about 25 of them in the Rs 25 lakh-50 lakh category - the rest smaller shopkeepers, even thelawallahs. They are the worst-hit.
Saharanpur DM Inderbir Singh Yadav says 69 vehicles and 263 shops - big, small and tiny - were destroyed in the riots. "The consolidated list has been sent to the UP government for compensation. Because of the September 13 bypoll, we need Election Commission permission to disburse the amount. It's likely to come soon," he says.
Many businessmen insist their losses are severely undervalued. The government, some feel, is inclined towards compensating those without insurance. But those affected proffer that insurance payments never cover the entire loss and they should be adequately compensated.
Tailor Mohd Usman hadn't insured his small cubicle on the first floor of a run-down, Khalasi Lane shopping complex. The shop was torched. "Most of my customers are Hindus. But I got orders from Muslims too. Due to Eid, which was just three days away, I had plenty of work. Everything's gone. I have been set back by five years," he says as masons mend the damage.
Usman has taken Rs 40,000 loan and hopes the government will bail him out. "But I am wondering if my customers will return. They might think, let's go somewhere else, this guy's shop might get burnt again," he fears.
Riots destroy livelihoods; they also crush victims psychologically. Like Usman, most of them betray helplessness and uncertainty. "Is there any guarantee it won't happen again?" they wonder.
That's why after the riots, Chawla wanted to leave Saharanpur, a town that sheltered and nourished his family after it arrived from Lyallpur (now Islamabad) during Partition. But his son stopped him.
"He told me, the rioters took away your goods, burnt your shop. But they cannot take away the goodwill you have earned. He gave me the courage to stay on," says Chawla. "I'll put up a bigger and better showroom. That would be my answer to the rioters," he adds.
Source:-
Riot-hit Saharanpur businessmen pick up pieces - The Times of India
