As temp rises, migrants bear the heat in metal porta cabins

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I was brought here by police when the bus services were cancelled after the lockdown. I had no idea the heat could be so harsh in here.

SHIVA, living at a Paharganj shelter

nNEW DELHI: The rising summer temperatures in Delhi has added to the woes of thousands of migrants who are stuck in the city after the nationwide lockdown was announced on March 24, to stop the spread of Covid-19, was extended till May 3.

Hundreds of them who are living in porta cabin shelters have to contend with the unbearable heat as these box-like metallic structures have turned into ovens due to lack of ventilation. On Thursday, the city recorded a maximum temperature of 39.6 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal, and the minimum was 21.9 degrees Celsius. Weather stations at Palam and Ayanagar recorded a maximum of 40.4 degrees Celsius and 40.3 degrees Celsius, respectively.

Besides 259 regular shelter homes for the homeless in the city — of which 112 are porta cabins, 111 in buildings and 36 in tents — the government has converted 256 school buildings into shelters for migrant workers. As many as 1,435 school buildings have been converted into food distribution centres.

“It is difficult to spend the day inside as the shelter feels like a furnace when the sun is at its peak. Although the shelter has ceiling fans, they hardly have any effect in the absence of ventilation,” said Ashok Kumar Jatav, a rickshaw puller, who stayed back in the city for his arthritis treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). He later learnt that the out-patient services have been suspended. Jatav, who hails from Bhind district in Madhya Pradesh, is living at a shelter in Yamuna Bazar.

Shiva, 27, housed at a porta cabin near Paharganj, said he keeps washing his face and head to beat the heat. “I was brought here by the police when the bus services were cancelled after the lockdown. I used to live in a rented room. I had no idea the heat could be so harsh in here. Back at the room, we had a cooler also. I hope that the government does something to help us survive the heat till the lockdown is over,” he said. He used to work at an eatery at West Delhi’s Janakpuri and belongs to UP’S Hardoi.

Officials in the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), the nodal agency for arranging shelters for the homeless in the city, said by next week, roofs of porta cabins will be painted white to control the heat. They said they will also install air coolers inside shelters and provide drinking water to inmates.

Bipin Rai, member, DUSIB, said, “We had a meeting to discuss the measures for a summer action plan. We have already placed an order for at least 500 air coolers. The shelters run from buildings already have air coolers and we are repairing and cleaning them for use. Also, we will place earthen pots at all shelters so that inmates get clean, cold drinking water.”

The situation was better at shelters in buildings, which are better ventilated. “It does feel hot in the day but we sit in the compound under the shade of trees. We are able to sleep well in the night with fans on. We will need coolers, when the heat becomes unbearable,” said Ram Nath, 53, who lives at a shelter run from a school building in New Rajinder Nagar. Nath is from Bihar’s Muzaffarpur and used to work at a bag-making unit in Paharganj.