Kejriwal should know, cold kills 181 homeless people in Delhi in January alone

New Delhi: The Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi Government had made an announcement to replace all night shelters being run from plastic tents with porta cabins. But this promise makes no sense to the poorest of the poor who are left to battle the harsh cold and hunger out in the open. As the national capital is witnessing severe cold this winter, the number of homeless deaths has gone up over the past three weeks. Over 181 unidentified bodies have been found in Delhi, and most of them believed to have died due to biting cold. Those who do manage to get in the ‘Rain Basera' have to deal with greedy caretakers who have to be bribed for the promise of a roof, blanket and mattress. In any case, the night shelters for these homeless people are starkly inadequate - only about 14,000 people can be accommodated at these shelters, leaving scores shivering through the night under flyovers. Sitting on a tarpaulin and covered in blankets, 12-year-old Gobind massages his sick mother's arms as she shivers in the cold. Since coming from Uttar Pradesh a year-and-a-half ago, he and his family have been sleeping on the footpath outside the AIIMS hospital in South Delhi because of his mother's medical condition. "My mother has a respiratory problem," he said. "Even in the winter we have to stay here near the hospital." While Gobind watches over his mother, his aunt begins making her bed for the night. She unfolds several cardboard boxes and lays down on top of them, pulling up two thin blankets to cover her. Around her people have pulled their blankets up over their faces and heads. Most of them have come from interstate for medical treatment, but are unable to afford accommodation in the city. Twenty-four-year-old Deepu, who sleeps under a flyover near Majnu ka Tila in north Delhi, said he was badly beaten up by shelter caretakers who had accused him of stealing blankets. Most of the night shelters lack basic facilities like drinking water and toilet. Homeless people who manage to find a place at these shelters have to depend on public urinals, only after they pay a charge of Rs 2. Moreover, among the homeless there are the drug addicts. Experts say the government should come up with shelters with de-addiction facilities. At present there is only one night shelter for drug addicts at Kotla Mubarakpur. In a desperate move to protect these homeless from the bitterly cold the Delhi Government started using abandoned buses as temporary shelters. The first of 200 buses deployed across the city have been placed outside the AIIMS hospital, 50 metres from Gobind and his family. But, the showpiece initiative of the AAP government are no better either. These buses stand on a pool of water which now breeds mosquitoes. There are no toilet facilities and people in the shelter are forced to use the filthy public toilets around the hospital.