Cold wave deaths? CM raps official
KEJRIWAL SPEAKS Delhi Chief Minister reprimands DUSIB chief over reports that 44 ‘homeless’ people allegedly died of cold in the Capital Unidentified bodies discovered in the city are not only of homeless persons but also of those died in road accidents and in various other crimes, including unidentified bodies recovered from canals and rivers. MADHUR VERMA, Delhi Police PRO
NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal lashed out at the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board after reports on an NGO’S claim about 44 deaths due to cold weather in the city emerged.
Kejriwal also criticised L-G Anil Baijal for not consulting his government before appointing officials.
The CM tweeted: “Media reporting 44 deaths of homeless due to cold. Am issuing show cause notice to CEO, DUSIB. Negligible deaths last year. This year, LG appointed a useless officer. LG refuses to consult us before appointing officers. How do we run govt like this?”
The L-G office’s did not respond to the allegations despite calls and text messages by Hindustan Times.
Singh, however, rejected the reports saying it would be wrong to link the deaths of the homeless to the cold. “One cannot associate deaths of the homeless with cold. No government department has shared any such data with us,” he said. Currently, DUSIB’S 261 night shelters, run through NGOS on contract basis, and have a capacity to house 20,934 people. Singh claimed the peak occupancy during nights this season has been 13,810.
While the CM said there were “negligible deaths” in 2017, the government spokesperson defended the DUSIB claiming that the number of deaths had not increased.
Atishi Marlena, the advisor to the education minister, tweeted: “Surprised at story being run by several channels on cold wave deaths. If the number of deaths of homeless/unidentified persons is consistent across all 12 months, how can they be attributed to the cold wave?”
The spokesperson referred to data of 10 years showing that maximum deaths happened in summer months from June to September.
“Last year in January, there were 207 deaths which if we divide would come around the same number, or even more, for the first week of January. In 2017, the maximum unidentified bodies (284) were found in October. In 2016, it was 336 in September. In 2015, it was 291 in the month of May,” the spokesperson said.
Sunil Kumar Aledia of NGO Centre for Holistic Development, on whose claims the reports were carried by news channels, said he arrived at the number of deaths at 44 based on the number of unidentified bodies found in the city by the Zonal Integrated Police Network. “I do not want to get into politics, but it is a fact that harsh winters and summers are chief triggers behind the death of homeless people who are already diseased,” Aledia said.
Delhi Police PRO Madhur Verma, denied that any data on deaths of homeless because of cold has been released by the city police. “Unidentified bodies discovered in the city are not only of homeless persons but also of those died in road accidents and in various other crimes. Bodies that are recovered from canals and rivers, without having any identification documents, are also counted in the list of uniden- tified bodies,” said Verma.
Meanwhile the Delhi BJP demanded that an all-party meeting be held to discuss the situation. The party’s Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari said, “So many people have to die, before you realised the gravity of the situation. BJP team continues to help the homeless and since the Aam Aadmi Party claims to be helpless, we demand an all-party meet on priority basis.”
He claimed that number of deaths due to cold were confirmed by home ministry. “The home ministry has confirmed that in the first six days of 2018, 44 deaths took place, including that of a small child,” Tiwari said.