Five night shelters likely in Steel City

JAMSHEDPUR: With night temperature plummeting to 11 degrees, the homeless are left with no option but to spend nights under open sky. The Steel City still does not have night shelters for poor. As per directive of the Supreme Court, the state urban department has taken up the cudgels to set up night shelters in prominent cities.

In Jamshedpur too plan was drawn up last year to set up shelters in select localities, but none of them has yet been completed. Meanwhile, the minimum temperature has dipped to 11 degrees, and the Met department has notified that temperature would fall further.

Special officer of Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC) RN Dwivedi told Hindustan Times, “Construction of night shelters is underway. There have been some problems regarding land and encroachments where these units are supposed to come up. But we have sorted out the problems and the work is going on in full swing. This winter we hope to open five night shelters for the poor at Kadma, Sonari, Baridih, Burmamines and near the civil court.”

The upcoming night shelters would be spacious. When asked whether the tourist complex at Sakchi, which is lying unutilized for long, could be used as night shelter, Dwivedi said that the complex belonged to tourism department and was not under JNAC’s purview. Last winter the civic authorities used the community halls to provide shelters to the poor during nights.