The musty smell of decay and poverty hangs in the large room, full of men of all ages lying on thin mattresses scattered across the cold floor. Welcome to Rain Basera—a night shelter for the homeless in the state capital.
This government-run facility, a temporary refuge for those with nowhere to go, is a robust concrete structure with windows on one side and garishly painted walls on the other.
A stream of water flows in the foyer outside, which houses a community kitchen to the right and a public convenience at the opposite end.Mohammad Arif has been taking care of the shelter for around five years. He says that nearly 150 men sleep under his watch each night. Though the facility also offers its services to women, female residents are few and far between. The Rain Basera shelter, opposite Indira Gandhi Hospital at the cusp of the old city, is the largest of seventeen such facilities run by the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) under the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM).
"Our shelter is the most sought-after in the city, as we offer full boarding and lodging facilities," informs Arif. He says that the token issued by the shelter can be used to get free food from the Deendayal Kitchen and to use the toilet and bath facilities free of charge."We charge Rs 5 per night.
The place is cleaned every day, and though we have fewer beds, the place shelters around 150 people. The mattresses on the floor are only meant to accommodate the extras each night," he says.
"We host the worst of the lot: pickpockets, addicts, drunks—you name it, and we welcome them." The caretaker says that he often goes out into the street to bring people into the shelter.Brawls at the shelter are not uncommon.
"We pacify the troublemakers until the arrival of the police from the Talaiyya Thana, which stands a stone's throw from the facility. The police straighten things out," he adds.
Arif says that the facility is well-equipped. He praises his superiors for their support. "We are fully equipped for all seasons.
The facility has large air coolers for the summer, and the civic body provides firewood during the winter," says the BMC contractual staffer. He, however, laments the lackadaisical approach of the administration at Hamidia Hospital. "Hamidia Aspatal mein in logon ki koi sunwayi nahi hoti. Dus barah log mere haathon mein dum tod chuke hain (No one cares for these people at Hamidia Hospital; 10-12 people have breathed their last in my hands)," he says.
"Residents here chip in for the treatment of the ill. We don't turn anyone away," says Arif, pointing to an old man suffering from leprosy in the foyer."We don't allow him in due to fears of infection, but we have provided him with a mattress and quilt. He sleeps outside," he adds. The old man in question sits on the floor outside. On the other side of the foyer, city traffic flows at its normal pace, oblivious to so much that remains hidden in plain sight.
