They lost their homes in 2002 at Naroda Patiya. On July 2004, they were given keys to their new houses, but have been forgotten since then. Even before the election, no candidate visited them for campaigning barring an Independent candidate, whose name they can’t even remember. The area is a part of Sarkhej constituency; the same place from where one of the most powerful ministers of the state government, Amit Shah, Minister for State for Home Affairs, won the previous elections.

For the past three years, life for the riot victims at Citizen Nagar, behind the AMC Sewage Firm at Danilimda, has been nothing short of a struggle for the very basic civic amenities. And today, they simply don't bother about elections or for political parties. “We are about 400 adults here,” says Sayeed Nadeemuddin, a stocky man in his fifties. “Haan, voting cards mil gaye hain lekin kya farak padta hain?” (Yes, we got the voting cards, but what difference does it make?), he says. “We lost everything in the Naroda Patiya massacre. After that in 2004, Muslim NGOs provided us with houses here and that’s it,” says Moin Sheikh.

Nestled behind the city’s garbage dump, the settlers have a lot to negotiate. The firm regularly releases waste water towards the colony, which, according to the settlers, enter their homes. Also, the waste water released from the factories around adds to the plight of the colony dwellers. “We had to raise a few thousand rupees just to get a gutter here. When it rains, the plight worsens. And in summer, with the scorching sun, the stench gets unbearable,” says Farida, a resident.

... contd.