Muzaffarnagar (Uttar Pradesh): Dec 23 (IANS) A citizen' group distributed over 3,000 blankets at camps here housing those displaced during the Muzaffarnagar riots Monday, a day after Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi visited the riot victims.

The riots claimed about 50 lives.

As winter set in, reports by early December said about 40 children had died in the camps.

The “Blanket of Hope” campaign to collect blankets for distribution in the relief camps began mid-December.

Once nearly 3,000 blankets were collected, a decision was taken to distribute them at three camps in Suneti, Beepur and Malakpur, where about 500 families are sheltered under tarpaulin sheets.

Shehzad Poonawala, a Delhi youth, campaigned hard over the social media and reached out to friends.

On the first day, 150 blankets were promised and there were people from around the world with offers of support. Cash donations were turned down.

People could order blankets for the campaign through online shopping sites, and there were many people who made use of sites like Flipkart to make the donation.