With temperatures dipping in the city, people who find themselves without a roof on cold winter nights have started turning to the free night shelters which have been set up by the municipal corporation (MC).
Ten night shelters have been set up at the same locations as last year including PGIMER and Sectors 16, 22, 32 and 43. They started coming up around a week back, and initially, only five or 10 people turned up every night. Now, the numbers have significantly gone up, as around 75 people stayed at the shelter in front of PGIMER on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday.
The enclosure here is the biggest and has been made by combining three tents together, with one only for men, one for families and one for women. Uttam Singh who works as a security guard here, said that due to the recent cold spell. more people are turning to these enclosures. “Most people who come here are either themselves getting treated at PGIMER or the family members of patients. They don’t stay the whole night, but come and go as they are called to the hospital. During the first day of dense fog in the city on Friday, we had 50 people turn up here.”
Bandu Shah from Bijnore in Uttar Pradesh, who has been staying here since Friday, said this a great initiative by the authorities. “Earlier, I was getting a room in Nayagaon for over ₹200 and with the transport costs it would have been really expensive for me, but this will take care of all my problems.” said Shah, who is seeking treatment for mouth cancer.
{{/usCountry}}Bandu Shah from Bijnore in Uttar Pradesh, who has been staying here since Friday, said this a great initiative by the authorities. “Earlier, I was getting a room in Nayagaon for over ₹200 and with the transport costs it would have been really expensive for me, but this will take care of all my problems.” said Shah, who is seeking treatment for mouth cancer.
{{/usCountry}}To sleep at the night shelter, people need to fill in their details like name, address and mobile phone number. A copy of the Aadhar Card is also needed, but the security officers said that if a person is able to provide the other details and isn’t intoxicated, they usually let them stay.
Surjit Singh, who is the caretaker here at the shelter outside Government Medical College and Hospital in Sector 32, says that around 70 people can be accommodated at the facility with Covid protocols in place. “We provide facilities for sleeping along with blankets and the shelter is heated as well. We provide water and there are shops nearby where people can buy a little to eat which stay open during the day. A mobile toilet facility has also been provided next to the shelter and through the night a PCR vehicle also stays nearby.”
MC officials who are in-charge of the project, said, “The 10 enclosures were made for ₹1.82 crores. While the tents were set up days in advance anticipating the cold weather, separate enclosures inside the shelter were made around Friday.” They added that these will run for the next couple of months till night temperatures stay low.