Friday, October 10, 2008

Kandhamal Christians fleeing to town

Bhubaneswar: Scared of returning to their homes in riot-hit Kandhamal district, a large number of people have started to migrate to urban areas in Orissa and near by states, Christian leaders alleged while addressing a media conference here Thursday.

"At least 20 families have left for Kerala and 10 other families went to Surat," President of Orissa Minority Forum, Swarupananda Patra said. He too claimed that the affected people who have left the relief camps have been taking shelter in city slums.

Patra said similar was the fate of the inmates of several relief camps in Cuttack. Some of the affected people had already started doing daily-wage manual work in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar to earn a living," he pointed out.

Giving the example of Suresh Nayak, an inmate of a relief camp in Cuttack, he said Nayak had been working as a labourer at construction sites, while 11 others either took up the jobs of tailoring or driving vehicles in Cuttack.

"We are scared to return to our villages as they could kill us," said Nayak, adding many of the families who were living in relief camps prefer to settle in cities instead of going back to villages where their houses were burnt or damaged.

MSN News