It is strange that people have to live under the open sky in this biting cold weather despite of shelter homes in various parts of the city. It is probably negligence on part of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) that the count of homeless deaths is increasing day by day.
According to media reports, bodies of five men and one woman were found in the Nigambodh Ghat area on the 18th of January. The police department has reported 11 deaths near Kashmere Gate in the last two months. Mind-numbing cold is apparently the cause behind these deaths. Considering the number of homeless people in Delhi, the night shelters set up by DUSIB are definitely not enough.
Going by reports of the Centre for Holistic Development, 174 dead bodies have been found in streets of Delhi, so far in this month. Delhi police believes that a major percentage of the dead bodies found were of homeless people who died due to cold and winter rain in Delhi.
Since the Aam Aadmi Party came into power, efforts have been taken to protect the unfortunate people of Delhi. So much so that even dilapidated buses were turned into night camps for the poor. Nevertheless, the government has come under severe scrutiny due to several deaths this month. Forecast at Skymet suggests that the winter chill of Delhi will dissipate from now on as maximums are rising. Today morning the minimum temperature recorded was 11°C while the maximum was 20°C.
picture courtesy- Payel Chatterjee