According to a press note issued by Sardar Kamalsingh Bavri, President of the Akhil Bhartiya Sikh Sikhalgar Vikas Parishad and the Manav Jodo Abhiyan Samiti, the small band of nomadic Sikalgar Sikh community belonging to 20 families, who had lost all their belongings in the 1984 riots have been forced to live on the streets in wretched conditions near the Wardha railway station in the absence of any government aid.

Bavri recently submitted memorandums to the District Collector, Wardha, Divisional Commissioner, Nagpur, PWD and Guardian Minister of Nagpur Nitin Gadkari and Wardha MP Datta Meghe for providing immediate assistance to the Sikalgars in Wardha. Unfortunately, so far the government has given no indication that it has even taken note of the abysmalcondition of the poor community, he charged.

The Sikalgars have been demanding full compensation for the loss of their houses and all their properties in the 1984 riots, a housing colony for the riot victims, Rs 50,000 for the riot affected victims, Rs 5 lakh compensation for the damage to the Sikh Gurudwara, taking back cases of victimisation of the Sikalgar community members during the riot and providing safety and security to the Sikalgars, who because of their abject poverty are treated like vagabonds by the police and the public alike in Wardha.

Even 14 years after the ghastly incident, the Sikalgars are still crying for justice and demanding adequate compensation from the government, said Bavri.