The piercing cold has at least killed 12 homeless people, including that of an elder citizen in the city the in last couple of weeks, even when the official data of Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) shows that there are appropriate numbers of night shelters (249) to accommodate homeless people (16,760).
The number may go up significantly if police data on unidentified bodies is taken into account. It shows that 39 bodies were recovered between January 14 and 20 from Connaught place, CR Park, Civil lines and Kashmiri gate areas respectively. The reasons for death are yet to be assertained, said sources.
The DUSIB data shows that there are 84 permanent shelters, 111 porta cabins, 49 tents and two shelters designed by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). Also, in 2014 it reported that around 16,760 people were considered homeless but Sunil Kumar Aledia of Centre for holistic Development (CHD), an NGO, has trashed DUSIB's data and said, “In 2014, a survey found 1.80 lakh homeless residents present in the Capital."
"About 249 shelter homes account for mere 13 per cent of the proposed space (19.6 lakh sq/ft) for them under the master plan for Delhi-2021," added Aledia. While underlining the lack of shelter homes, CHD representative said, "There are at least 1.5 lakh homeless and only 4,890 of them get shelters." Moreover, Delhi Congress chief spokesperson Sharmishta Mukherjee said, "Kejriwal had made tall promises of
providing over 18,000 extra beds in the 252 night shelters across the Capital, but did nothing, and as a result, 10 homeless died during the brief cold spell.”