Patkar demands permanent houses for slum-dwellers

Visakhapatnam: Noted social worker and environmentalist Medha Parkar on Friday demanded that permanent houses be built for slum-dwellers in the city.

Patkar, who visited the Hudhud cyclone-affected slums in Kancharapalem area, said whenever such a calamity struck, the slum-dwellers were worst affected. The government always promised permanent houses for them but never kept its word, she observed.

"This time too the slum-dwellers here are worst affected. They did not get the relief claimed to have been distributed by the government. Some of them got rice, some dal but not the help needed to rebuild their lives. Nor do they have ration cards though the government promised to give all of them ration cards.. The government should build permanent houses for them and extend all relief," she said.