HUNGRY AND HOMELESS, THEY BATTLE RAIN & CHILL TO SURVIVE
Poor conditions at shelter homes after incessant rain, cold force them to sleep in open
NEW DELHI: Despite a large number of initiatives and arrangements to improve life of the city’s homeless, there is no respite to their woes. Amid incessant rain and chilly weather, a major portion of these people have no options left but to sleep in the open along roadsides.
The worst hit are those living in floodplains of River Yamuna as they have been braving the chill out in the open with lower temperatures than the remaining parts.
“Our misery has increased manifold as we cannot sleep on pavements and footpaths along the roads. Incessant rain for 24 hours has not only forced us to wander hither and thither in search of a proper place but we have had to dump our belongings as well. If downward trend of temperature and incessant rains continue, survival will be quite challenging. Protection of elderly people, children and women is more challenging as the extreme cold can prove to be quite difficult for them,” said Lalitesh, a homeless living in Kashmiri gate area.
People living along the river-bed have a similar situation as their homes have either been destroyed or are in pitiable conditions. Those who are used to struggle in the cold said they have been living on their own for quite long and the Thursday’s spell has pushed them to live in inhumane conditions.
They rued that despite facing this crisis, no local agency has taken up their issue in the right forum yet and there have been dozens of deaths of infants, minors and senior citizens in the last couple of years. The DUSIB officials, however, said they are doing their bit but it seems impossible to provide amenities to each and every individual. “Our makeshift homes have been damaged completely; clothes and other belongings have been dampened and wood has got wet. Poor visibility of the sun and a thick layer of fog/smog have added to our woes as it will cause further delay in normalising the situation here,” said Munna Khan, a 50-yearold who lives with his family in Raini WELL-VII area. A physical survey of the area reveals a sorry state of affairs and illpreparedness of government agencies as well. While visiting the river bed in the vicinity of ITO, Yamuna Bank, Shastri Park and other areas too, it has been found that hundreds of homeless people are living in this situation.
The cascading effects of heavy downpour has also been witnessed on Delhi’s shelter homes as occupancy at these permanent homes has shot up. The agencies managing the premises claim more entries during these days.
“Generally, we see an average crowd but after a full day’s rain on Thursday and on Friday morning, there has been more footfall. Though the crowd has increased we try to accommodate as much as possible with the best possible infrastructure,” said a caretaker of a shelter home located in Rajghat area.