Hostel for the blind demolished by DDA: Since rubble is yet to be cleared, many hurt themselves while looking for belongings, Neeraj Batra (28) said. Express photo by Praveen Khanna Hostel for the blind demolished by DDA: Since rubble is yet to be cleared, many hurt themselves while looking for belongings, Neeraj Batra (28) said. Express photo by Praveen Khanna

A toothbrush, a textbook, a pillow. Till December 15, occupants of a hostel for the visually impaired in Janakpuri knew exactly where to find these things. But that changed after the DDA came knocking on their doors, and demolished the structure that was allegedly encroaching public land. Since then, the hostel’s 20-odd occupants, mostly students, have been living out in the open.

“I have done a course in candle-making and have a certificate, which I need to apply for jobs. I also have medical certificates from doctors who have tested my eyes in the past. All of that is lost. I don’t know if it’s in the rubble or between our goods kept in a tent next to the razed structure,” said 23-year-old Virender Kumar, one of the occupants of the Louis Welfare Progressive Association of the Blind.

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Given their dependence on touch, the demolition has been particularly disorienting, the students said.

Following the demolition, their belongings — utensils, pillows, bedsheets, books and other daily essentials — were kept in the yard outside. “Many of my documents are not in Braille, so I cannot find them by touch. I will have to ask someone to look for them… but who?” Kumar said. “We are all either partially or completely visually impaired here. The neighbours have already done enough by offering us food. I cannot ask them to look for my documents.”

Many audio books and notes in Braille are also untraceable. “I can’t find study material and CDs I got from the National Institute for the Visually Handicapped in Dehradun… among them are books by Helen Keller,” said Neeraj Batra, 28.

He added that since the rubble has not been cleared, many of them often hurt themselves looking for their belongings.

Another student said that they have to seek help from neighbours to take them to a public toilet every morning, where they then form a queue, holding hands.

“Those who are partially blind somehow manage in the day, but at night even they are dependent,” he said.

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Students also alleged they are facing “trouble from pigs and dogs” near the tents, erected by the DUSIB as a makeshift shelter. The animals, they said, often run away with small items.

“I can’t sleep like this — next to animals and stench from drains,” said 19-year-old Deepak Kumar, adding that most of them haven’t bathed in a week. Unaware of where mattresses are kept on the floor, many often step on them with shoes on, he said.

Most students said they were either preparing for exams or for clerical jobs. Many study at DU’s School of Open learning or Sarvodaya Vidyalaya.

One occupant, Dinesh Kumar (27), said that with hardly any plug point to charge their phones, most of them are struggling to reach out to their relatives and friends.

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