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FROM THE FIELD

Homeless in a cold Delhi
09 Jan 2009 05:45:00 GMT
 Source: ActionAid International- India
ActionAid

Website: Website: http://www.actionaidindia.org

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on Delhi's street without shelter
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on Delhi's street without shelter
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Questions were answered by Sanjay Krishna of ActionAid's Aashray Adhikar Abhiyan (Shelter Rights Campaign). The campaign was set up in 2000 to work with homeless people in India to help tackle the challenges they face.

1. What is the estimate of homeless in the national capital?

Ans. The country's capital has an estimated 150,000 population without access to shelter, water, and sanitation. This constitutes one per cent of the total population of Delhi. Women without shelter constitute 5 - 7 % of the total homeless in the city. And the number continues to swell with increasing migrant population who come here in search of jobs and dreams of better life.

2. How many night shelters are there in Delhi and how many are run by Ashray Adhikar Abhiyan?

Ans. There are 25 night shelters. These are permanent buildings. Of this 10 shelters are run by Delhi's municipal corporation and 15 by Ashray Adhikar Abhiyan.

In winters there is extra provision. Besides the permanent building structure there are also temporary tents erected to provide shelter facilities for those who are in need. Currently there are 38 tents available for people to use in various parts of Delhi.

Ashray Adhikar Abhiyan has been lobbying with Government of Delhi and Municipal Corporation of Delhi to draw attention towards the needs of those without shelter. This has resulted in adequate pressure and yielded results. For example though the official date for the onset of winters were set at 15 December, this year process for winter shelters started mid November and by 1 December they were available to use.

3. What are the facilities offered at the shelters? How do you get people to know about the shelter available for them to use?

Ans. We try as much as possible to make it comfortable for shelter users. We offer them mattress, blankets and food for women, children old and ailing. We also ensure that health needs of those coming to these shelters are taken care of while we keep first-aid box at every shelter - permanent or temporary. For this we organise doctors' visit to the shelters on a regular basis. In case of emergency we also take them to hospitals.

We also have books and newspapers in a small library maintained by the campaign workers at these shelters and installed television to provide for some recreation.

Yes, many people do not know that shelters are available. People arrive in Delhi from all over the country they may be fleeing rural poverty or have been brought as laborers. We need to keep spreading information in a way that vulnerable people can understand and trust.

Every night we have a team of 15 to 20 walking around Delhi, spending time with people living on the streets, getting to know them, gaining their confidence and telling them where shelters can be found and what to expect there. Then people can make an informed decision.

4. Of the total homeless, how many use the shelters? Have you seen an increase in the number of those opting for these over the years?

Ans. Everyone without a roof needs shelter but there is only as much we can do and keep the pressure on the government for more. Currently roughly 5% of those use the shelters during winter.

However, we have seen a definite increase in the number of shelter users. The Delhi government is now more responsive to the needs of the population spilling on the sidelines of cityscape. There has been consistent increase in temporary tents during the winters when the situation becomes really grim. However, efforts by the government and NGOs touch only the tip of the pressing need.

The busiest shelters are those near Old Delhi railway station and the central markets where many people work as labourers in the informal sector. These are often filled to capacity.

5. Is the government doing enough? What more is needed to improve the situation of homeless population?

Ans. There is a mindset that sees the floating population as a burden on the city's resources and not as an integral element of urban landscape. It is important to look at who constitutes this population - they are the ragpickers, rickshaw pullers, construction workers and such others. They do not have a home and hence have no identity.

Many homeless people are unable to obtain access to pensions, ration cards, justice and health care for example, all these things that they have a right to are often denied because they have no recognised address. The fact that there is no government data on homeless people in Delhi reflects the appalling negligence towards the issue.

Slum evictions under JNNURM and Delhi Master Plan are adding to the numbers of homeless. Preparations for 2010 Commonwealth Games will also involve major displacement.

In 2004, homes of 150, 000 people were bulldozed in Yamuna Pushta - the largest eviction in the capital. In early 2006 over 1500 households were demolished in Delhi's Mandawali and another 597 households near Bhatti Mines in Balbir Nagar on the outskirts of the city.

If the government could raise Rs.105.71 billion for the first phase of the Delhi Metro, over Rs.10 billion for the high capacity bus corridor, and over Rs.52 billion for the 2010 Commonwealth Games as well as provision of land for stadiums and other constructions.

Why can't the authorities allocate a fraction of these resources to find space for public housing and shelters for the homeless who are making immense contribution to the city's development through their labour?

India needs a national policy on homelessness.

6. Among the homeless, what threats women face living on the streets?

Ans. Women make up 7-10% of Delhi's homeless. The only year-round shelter for women in the capital was closed down in June 2007 leaving them with no safe place to sleep.When the shelter was closed these women were forced out on the streets again leaving them more vulnerable to violence and sexual abuse.

They huddle together on railway platforms, around temples and other places of worship where they feel safe with fellow women.

More shelters with specific provisions for women and children would mean fewer rapes and assaults on Delhi's streets.

Homeless people sleeping on roadsides are far more vulnerable to hit and run car drivers, theft and police brutality. Extreme cold, pollution and exposure to the weather also make people physically sick. Women and children fall an easy prey to all of above.

National programmes such as the Swadhar Scheme aims at providing shelter to women but inadequate implementation leaves the problem untouched. According to government records only 150 women in Delhi benefited from this scheme in 2002 - 2003 and since then no data is available.

7. Is there anything else you would want the readers to know?

Ans. It is important that that we see a homeless as a human first and the issue of homelessness as a problem of the society at large. They don't need sympathy but a life with dignity and respect.

Every one has a right to shelter. It needs a collective effort by the government, NGOs, and every citizen to ensure that this right is protected and promoted. Every single effort counts.

Article 21 of the Indian Constitution guarantees right to life, which embraces within its ambit right to shelter. But many continue to live under stark denial of the very basic right.

8. How can people help the campaign?

Ans. People can help Aashray Adhikar Abhiyan in many ways. There is a need for mattresses, blankets and warm clothes during winters. They can offer dry rations for the shelter users. Donations in money or kind are welcome. People can also offer their professional skills, whether they are teachers, doctors , IT professionals. They can also volunteer with Ashray Adhikar Abhiyan and help us in our work. We also encourage those willing to impart trainings and skills that may help those without work find jobs and earn a living.

For more information visit www.homelesspeople.in , www.actionaidindia.org




[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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