Zafar reports from Arwal, Bihar. A science graduate, he took to social movements and social work early on, especially working to understand how local self governance systems can be used to address rural problems. He now reports on issues ranging from entitlement violations to gender and human trafficking, and is the ultimate go-to person in his village and even block…

S M Zafar Iqubal

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A fire broke out in a sleepy hamlet of Bihar in the middle of the night, awakening village residents from their deep slumber. Six houses of the village, all belonging to poor farmers, were burnt to ashes along with the yearly ration, stored produce and all household items. Had it not been for Suresh Yadav, a braveheart who jumped into the fire to rescue victims stuck in the fire, the damage would have been more severe. He has suffered burns on his hands and shoulder.

Had the incident taken place in an urban setting, Suresh would be deemed a local hero, but in the hamlet of Koni, Arwal, Bihar, Suresh still awaits his rightful compensation from the state government, so that he can get his treatment done.

Bihar has been paying a heavy price for climate change this preceding summer. Bihar's rural and semi-rural areas have had many unfortunate events of fire. The state officials believe that the fire from earthen chulhas that use dry wood and dung cakes, stoked by hot, dry, western wind has been the culprit that has till now destroyed about 22,000 homes and cattle sheds have been fully or partially.

Call Saurav Kumar, the Block Development Officer of the district on +91-9431818082 had request him to compensate the victims at the earliest.

This video was made by a Video Volunteers Community Correspondent SM Zafar.

Community Correspondents come from marginalised communities in India and produce videos on unreported stories.
These stories are ’news by those who live it.’ They give the hyperlocal context to global human rights and development challenges.
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