After a glitch-free round of inspection of schools in the Capital, the Delhi Government has begun inspection of night shelters in the city to identify the basic problems there. Delhi Urban Development Minister Manish Sisodia, who has recently set up around 40 shelters, has deployed nearly 110 volunteers to monitor the prevailing conditions in each of the 210 shelters across the city.
During the inspection drive, the volunteers would check on the condition of the existing shelters and availability of blankets, toilets, drinking water, food, emergency requirements etc. Just like the inspection of schools was carried out by a group of volunteers recently, another hundred of AAP volunteers, who are a part of this drive, were given a checklist. The inspection, which was launched on January 20, is expected to be completed by Thursday. After the completion of inspection, the volunteers would submit a status report to Sisodia.
“Around 100 volunteers who began their inspection on Monday night have so far visited over 130 night shelters in various locations. Several problems were found in the shelters such as non-availability of drinking water, blankets were also scarce and those available were torn,” said one of the volunteers, who visited Sarai Kale Khan and nearby areas.
The volunteers have visited locations like AIIMS, Chandni Chowk, Jama Masjid, Nizamuddin, Sai Temple in lodhi Road, Fatehpuri and Sarai Kale Khan to name a few where the condition of the shelter occupants was observed with a checklist in hand of each volunteer which included blankets, toilets, water, care takers and complaint redressal numbers.
“There were certain abandoned buses which were turned into night shelters but did not have toilets. Toilets will be installed in these buses at the earliest. Nearly 20 buses in six different locations including the crucial area of AIIMS have been installed with toilets,” said Praveen Deshmukh, a volunteer supervising the inspection drive. “Besides, it was found that the control room number of the police was not properly displayed for the shelter inhabitants. So proper boards will be set up,” he added.