Psychologists to counsel Delhi building collapse victims
By IANSWednesday, November 24, 2010
NEW DELHI - The Delhi government has roped in psychological experts to help the survivors of the east Delhi building collapse come out of the emotional trauma of losing their shelter and, in some cases, their loved ones.
“They have lost their shelter and many have lost their family members in the incident. They are in a state of shock and they need to come out of it. That is why we have asked our experts from the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) to counsel them,” Delhi Health Minister Kiran Walia said.
The counselling is being provided in four hospitals — Guru Tegh Bahadur, Lok Nayak Jayaprakash, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Hedgewar — where the victims of the Nov 15 tragedy in Lalita Park area of Laxmi Nagar are admitted.
The health minister said the injured will not be discharged till they are allocated shelter.
“We have their ration cards and have also contacted the resident commissioners of (West) Bengal and Bihar to see that the right person gets the compensation,” she added.
The building collapse left over 60 families homeless, mostly labourers from West Bengal and Bihar, who were living in the cramped quarters of the 15-year-old building. The tragedy claimed as many as 69 lives and injured 82 others.
