145 Homeless Have Succumbed to Cold in Delhi: NGO

More than 140 homeless people in Delhi have died due to the extreme cold so far, highlighting the urgent need for providing shelter to people living on the road.

“So far, 145 homeless people in Delhi have died,” Sunil Kumar Aledia, executive director, Centre for Holistic Development (CHD), told Newsclick over the phone on Monday. Backing its claim with data collected in January, the non-governmental organisation said that the figures surpass last year’s toll.

CHD comprises lawyers, policy researchers and volunteers who analyse government policies and prepare ground reports to identify gaps in their effective implementation.

“In last week alone, 39 homeless people died due to cold. They probably didn’t find shelter in any of the government homes. Such people spend nights either on the roadside or outside shops,” Aledia said.

A CHD survey found that a large number of people sleep in the open at and around Kashmiri Gate, Yamuna Pusta, Nigambodh Ghat, Jamuna Bazaar, Chandni Chowk, Delhi Gate, Asaf Ali Road, Jama Masjid, Azadpur, Okhla, Badli, Kingsway Camp, Nizamuddin and Sarai Kale Khan.

There are 308 shelter homes under the administrative control of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB)—the nodal agency responsible for sheltering the homeless—including permanent and temporary buildings, portacabins and tents. According to the Delhi Shelter Board’s latest data, these homes can provide shelter to 9,330 people. As of Sunday night, around 8,200 homeless people have been spending nights at these shelter homes.

Against this, the 2011 Census 2011 figures show that Delhi has 46,724 homeless people. There are, however, close to 1,50,000-2,00,000 homeless people “at any given point”, including around 10,000 women, according to Housing and Land Rights Network, a non-profit advocacy group.

Last week as the toll touched 106, CHD wrote to Delhi chief minister and DUSIB chairman Arvind Kejriwal urging him to make proper arrangements for the homeless during winters.

North Delhi recorded the maximum number of deaths at 33, northwest 13, southwest and central nine each and west and New Delhi eight deaths each during the period, the letter claimed.

“A DUSIB survey in 2014 had identified 16,760 homeless people in Delhi. However, the actual number of homeless people who sleep on the roadside is more than one lakh,” the letter, dated January 19, stated.

CHD requested the Delhi government to make proper arrangements soon to ensure adherence to the 2014 guidelines for the Scheme of Shelter for Urban Homeless, under the National Urban Livelihoods Mission, which makes it mandatory for the government to provide permanent community shelters for a minimum of 100 persons for every one lakh urban population.

Strangely, rejecting the CHD data, a DUSIB official requesting anonymity told news agency PTI on Sunday: “There have been no deaths due to cold. Homeless people die in accidents and due to diseases and alcohol- and drug-related problems, DUSIB does not maintain such data.”

A senior police officer too denied that all the death were caused only by cold. “Despite the initiatives taken and the availability of shelter homes, there is no denial about the death of homeless people due to cold. But these are those who sleep on the railway tracks, carts, roadsides, outside shops... this happens despite all agencies working together to save such people,” he told PTI.

The DUSIB implements a winter action every year from November 7 to March 15 to provide shelter and necessary civic amenities to the homeless. Similarly, according to media reports, a comprehensive plan proposing formation of 16 teams to rescue the homeless at nights was designed by the DUSIB this year. A centralised control room at Punarwas Bhawan, IP Estate, monitors and assists the rescue teams. It can receive complaints and information 24x7 through a dedicated helpline 8826400500, mobile app Rain Basera and other sources.

With inputs from PTI.