Jainoor vendors rebuild livelihood with NGO support after September clashes

Adilabad: Jainoor, the mandal headquarters in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district, ravaged by violence in September, has risen like a phoenix. Yes, the resilient residents, some of whom had lost almost everything in the arson, have rebuilt their shops and other places of work literally from ashes.

Fruit and vegetable vendors get NGO aid

The process of rebuilding happened despite no governmental help, at least so far. Private help rescued victims of violence and aided in the process of rebuilding. For example, the Rahbar Foundation, a non-profit charitable organisation, helped poor fruit and vegetable vendors in restarting their meagre commercial activity.

The organisation distributed over 50 push carts among Muslim and Hindu fruit and vegetable vendors. The carts were also loaded with fruits and vegetables worth Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 each so that the donees don’t have to start from zero.

“The help from the Rahbar Foundation means a lot. Instead of using a pushcart taken on rent we now own this and save more,” said a happy Sadanand Dadekar, a roadside vegetable vendor.

Dadekar is the neighbour of Bablu, a Muslim fruit vendor who too received a fruit-laden push cart from the charitable organisation. He too was saved from taking a cart on a long term rent.

The residents of Jainoor were appreciative of the aid given by the Rahbar Foundation. “We are very happy that the organisation has not made any distinction between Muslims, Hindus or tribals when it came to charity though the fissures between these communities were quite visible post the September violence,” pointed out Raju Sinde, a professional photographer.

Businesses reduced to ashes in conflict

Among the big businessmen who sustained heavy losses are Md. Irfan and Santosh Vantre. Both have almost similar businesses selling hardware and electrical goods besides paints and machines.

“Everything was reduced to ashes,” said Vantre as he recalled the days immediately after the violence. The burnt material that came out when I cleaned my shop weighed a whopping 11 tonnes,” he added to explain the quantum of loss he suffered in the violence.

The problem of marriage

While the residents/victims of violence seem to have come to grips with the financial losses, at least temporarily, they are now faced with issues at a social level. One such problem that has cropped its head is getting the youth married.

Not wanting to be identified, a Muslim resident, a tailor by profession, said he was scared at the prospect of facing difficulty in finding a proper match for his son. The handsomely earning son is employed in an online marketing multinational based in Hyderabad.

“We approached a family in Hyderabad seeking to marry our son to their daughter. They flatly refused the proposal when I told them I am from Jainoor,” the angrily amused Jainoor resident reminisced. “They were not satisfied even when I assured them that my son would work and live in Hyderabad. ‘Won’t he come to visit you?’ a family asked before rejecting our proposal,” he said.

Meanwhile, the final word on the lasting peace descending upon Jainoor will come after Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy meets the tribals and addresses their problems. He had assured the Adivasis an audience after the Diwali festival and that meeting is long overdue now.