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Most migrants gone, Delhi govt working on exit plan from shelter relief scheme
New Delhi:
New Delhi:
With over two lakh stranded migrant workers leaving the capital for their home states over the past few weeks, the Delhi government has started working on an exit plan for the temporary shelter programme it has been running.
To start with, it has reduced the number of meals being offered at the shelters from three to two. Breakfast is not given anymore.
The move comes after the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) told the government that most of the temporary shelters set up in schools to house migrant workers had been closed since they had left for their home states. Also, the huge crowds and long queues at the over 1,600 government-run hunger relief centres had reduced by almost half, Delhi government officials said.
DUSIB member Bipin Rai said breakfast was suspended temporarily because a review was being done. “We have recommended the government to restart distribution of breakfast from June 1. A decision will be taken around May 29-30 for how long the provision of all meals at the shelters as well as hunger centres will go on,” he said.
The NGOs running the permanent shelters for the government had earlier this month raised concerns over breakfast distribution being stopped from May 14. During the lockdown, while NGOs were responsible for providing two meals, lunch and dinner, at these shelters, the government had roped in some private organisations for providing breakfast. Prior to the lockdown, there was no provision of free meals at the shelters. The homeless residents of Delhi at these shelters depend on Good Samaritans who provide food.
Data with the Delhi government shows that with most of the migrants gone, the daily beneficiaries at its 1,669 hunger relief centres had declined by over four lakh. “Earlier we used to get a minimum 9 lakh people each during lunch and dinner. This has reduced. On Tuesday, the HRCs fed 701,073 people during lunch and served dinner to 694,241 people. The numbers have reduced because over 2 lakh migrants have been sent back home in Shramik trains form Delhi,” said a media advisor to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
The official said a lot of temporary shelters set up in schools had now been closed with the migrants gone. Another official, not wishing to be named, said at least a dozen such shelters had been cleared, though the final number could be higher. “The data is still being compiled and the complete list of shelters that are now empty is unavailable as of now,” the official said.
Over 2 71,000 stranded migrants had left Delhi in 214 Shramik Special trains between May 7 and May 26, deputy CM Manish Sisodia had said in a statement on Tuesday. These trains are run in a special arrangement between the state governments, as per Central government guidelines.
The Delhi government had converted 256 school buildings into temporary shelters to house the stranded migrants soon after the nationwide lockdown was announced on March 24. Besides this, DUSIB has around 243 permanent shelters where over 5,000 people are housed. These are people who live permanently at shelters.
