Lucknow: Days after a devastating fire reduced hundreds of shanties to ashes, the district administration has intensified relief efforts — setting up camps, distributing food, and reaching out to the most vulnerable, especially children whose lives were abruptly disrupted.At relief camps set up near the affected area, long queues of displaced families formed through the day as officials and volunteers handed out food packets, drinking water, clothes and other essentials. Teams from the municipal corporation moved across the site to give cooked meals to those who had spent nights under the open sky with nothing left but the clothes they wore.Additional district magistrate (East) Mahendra Pal Singh said that relief camps have been operationalised to provide immediate assistance to the affected families. “Food and essential supplies are being distributed continuously. Our priority is to ensure that no one goes hungry and that basic needs are met,” he said, adding that rehabilitation efforts are also being planned for those who lost their homes.But amid the loss, one moment stood out — when children were handed fresh sets of books.Children gathered around relief workers, flipping through crisp pages with curiosity and quiet excitement. “I thought I wouldn’t be able to study again,” said a young boy, carefully placing his new books inside a plastic bag to protect them.“Everything got burnt — our home, our clothes, even their school bags,” said Vineeta Devi. “But when they got books, it felt like something has come back.”
