At the shelter homes under the AAP led Delhi government, all is free except the basic necessities of life-hygiene, cleanliness and a dignified life where even fixing simple problems takes months and caretakers await for their salaries to be credited.

Under the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), these homes were created to provide a place for the poor from Delhi and those seeking a place to live temporarily coming from other states. Instead, a look at the shelter home in Sarai Kale Khan, where 350 people live in four family homes and one gents home, shows rodents, flies and stray dogs creating a safety and hygiene menace.

Despite claims of regular cleaning of the premises and homes, it hardly appears clean with spider webs seen around and the campus looking in a very dilapidated state. Some bathrooms in the shelter home are broken including a ladies toilet where there is a missing door on one of the toilets and a broken bathroom which is not working for taking a bath. Some of the machines, which are installed for killing mosquitoes in the rooms, are also not functioning. A caretaker also said that some of the bathrooms on the premises are not working as repair work is pending.

Similar situation exists also in the Bangla Sahib-1 shelter home where there are no taps in the bathrooms and people have to carry buckets from outside. But the repair work which should be done in days takes months. Caretakers say that their hands are tied as they can only complain about various issues including broken floors, fans and other things to the NGOs responsible who in turn ask the Delhi government for the necessary arrangements.

A 30 year old caretaker said, “Ultimately what can we do other than raising the complaint. It is the government that has to do something even as it takes months for us to get something fixed.”

Many workers also alleged that they have not received payment for about four months even as they somehow manage to carry on with their lives. “The landlord won’t understand our issue. They want their payment every month but think about us, we don’t get our payments sometimes for months,” he said, adding that the conditions have only gotten worse in his experience of 14 years working in the shelters. “The government pays no attention to us nor do they care about these people that are seeking shelter here,” another one added.

These homes also grapple with security issues. In the Bangla sahib-1 shelter home, many people complained of frequent fights which can turn dangerous sometimes. A 40 year old woman residing with her 15 year old son had come to the shelter home after her husband passed away. She sets up her small shop in the premises, hardly earning enough to suffice for their needs.

She expressed concerns over the general safety of people. “I tell my son to not say anything and I also try to mind my own business since there is no sense of security. Anyone can do anything and scuffle over petty issues in the home is a normal thing,” she said.

While The Pioneer tried to contact the officers of DUSIB with queries, they didn’t answer any.