Anyone will be shocked when he would come to know that the budget provided for shelter homes by the Municipal Corporation, Haridwar, is a zero. A number of shelter homes are run in the city and hundreds of the hapless, including beggars, those crippled and destitute and even some tribals take shelter here while travelling along the holy city on pilgrimage or otherwise.
Mukhya Nagar Adhikhari, Haridwar Vipra Trivedi informed that there are three shelter homes in the city - two located at Gau Ghat and the other at Alaknanda Ghat, all near Har ki Paudi. As per the census 2011, the population of the city is about 2.14 lakh. Before the census, the city had the status of municipality. The city had two shelter homes then. The citizens of Haridwar elected their first Mayor in 2013.
The ruling of the Supreme Court given on writ petition no. 196/2001 PUCM vs. Union of India, has made it clear that for every one lakh population, there must be one shelter home for the homeless in every district. Thirty percent of the space will be reserved for the differently-abled and no identity proof will be asked on compulsory basis. Interestingly, when the reporter of The Pioneer reached things he encountered were at variance with what he had been briefed about. What he found in the shelter home was just a wall with a roof with two to three sides remaining open. The open sides are just covered with polythene sheets.
Manager of Dwarkadeesh Dharmik Society Ram Prakash Sharma said they are continuously striving to provide a kiosk to every person direly in need of a shelter since 1998 much before the first shelter home came up at the behest of Nagar Nigam authorities. He added two such homes are meant for men, including the physically crippled, endowed with the laying capacity of 100 and 150 respectively. Third one is reserved for the women and it has the laying capacity of 400. We have around five thousand blankets. We have one caretaker in charge of each of the shelter homes. Whatever we have has been donated by the common people. We are not getting a single rupee from the district authorities. Besides, we are providing medicines, blankets andkhicchadi on daily basis, he claimed.
Dinesh Sharma, Assistant Nagar Adhikari, said that Nagar Nigam is not providing anything for these shelter homes. We are arranging bonfire daily, he added. The spectacle of the hapless shivering in the cold as contrasted with the Babus enjoying the warmth provided by the room heaters is saddening. Notably, the bonfire has to be provided for the period from December to February every year.