“We have no option, I have to get my son treated... even if it means I have to live in the open,” Yashoda Devi told IANS, peeling potatoes and warming herself from the amber glow of the burning bits of wood.
Some have managed to find a place in a nearby shelter run by the hospital, while others are not so lucky and are forced to spend their nights under the open sky, coping with Delhi's harsh winter - Wednesday was the coldest day here in 44 years with the day temperature at a maximum of just 9.8 degrees Celsius.
All have the same story. They stay on the roads, biding their time till the next appointment, many too poor to go home and come back again.
There are paucity of beds in the hospital, considered amongst the best research and medical institutions in the country, and there is no option but to wait.
Summer is still ok, but the cold is unbearable, they say.
Amongst those living their days on the pavement are Ramlal and his six-year-old son, who often spend the night inside the toilet outside the hospital.
“I am here to get my child treated. Since we did not get a bed in the hospital or in the shelter, we had to spend the night in this toilet,” said Ramlal who has come from Uttar Pradesh.
The entrance to the toilet has been shut with tapes, but it is not totally sealed. People can go in and stay there.
Like him, Bachkan Sada, 65, is here for the treatment of his 35-year-old son Prakash, who is suffering from mouth cancer. The road has been their home for the past three months.
The only solace is that they were lucky to get some blankets - courtesy an NGO.
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