AHMEDABAD, AUGUST 25 The largest relief camp in the city which has been home to the riot victims has been shut down. The Shah Alam relief camp today has just a handful of the 3,000 refugees who were living here till last Friday.

That was when the camp was declared closed leading to utter chaos. Many of the inmates were clueless about what to do or where to go, having either lost all that they called their own in the riots or unable to reclaim what was once their own.

The ostensible reason: the annual fair at the Shah Alam Dargah, held to mark Saint Shah Alam’s death anniversary, after 15 days. That, however, is just a ruse. Chief organiser of the camp Mohsin Kadri claims the fair is only an excuse since the other organisers have been asking for this camp to be shut for almost a month now. ‘‘It is really sad but true. They had also made the refugees sign on a paper saying that they all wanted to go home. However, few of the refugees have any place to go to and I have no clue where they have gone,’’ he says, despairingly.

However, most have disappeared, except for a few who say they have nowhere to go to. One of them is Shabana Sheikh, a resident of Naroda-Patiya: ‘‘They just asked us to leave without any prior notice. A few have been given houses by some private trusts, but what about us, what are we going to do?’’

Another Naroda-Patiya resident, Javed Hussain, complains: ‘‘All our hopes were pinned on this camp. We thought that till we found a place for ourselves in an area dominated by our community, we’ll continue to stay here. Now we have no option but to leave. I am shifting to my brother’s place at Jamalpur, but for how long can I stay there?’’