GB Nagar admin steps up efforts to move homeless to shelters

The focus is on proactively identifying people sleeping in the open and shifting them to nearby facilities

GREATER NOIDA: With cold wave conditions persisting across Gautam Budh Nagar, the district administration has intensified field-level outreach to save the homeless and destitute from sleeping in the open, officials said on Tuesday.

The administration has identified 19 “Rain baseras” across the district, spread over Sadar, Dadri, and Jewar tehsils (sub-divisions) to provide shelter during the severe cold at night. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

The focus is on proactively identifying people sleeping in the open and shifting them to nearby facilities, they added.

District magistrate Medha Roopam said, “Given the prevailing cold wave and dense fog conditions, our priority is to ensure that no destitute person is left exposed to the cold. All night shelters have been directed to maintain adequate bedding, drinking water, sanitation and safety arrangements, with regular monitoring during night hours”.

The administration has identified 19 “Rain baseras” across the district, spread over Sadar, Dadri, and Jewar tehsils (sub-divisions) to provide shelter during the severe cold at night.

Field teams have been directed to identify people sleeping in the open at night and guide them to the nearest shelter.

These shelters, set up in coordination with the Noida authority, Greater Noida authority, municipal bodies and Nagar panchayats, are equipped with mattresses, blankets, clean drinking water, toilet facilities and kitchen arrangements. No fee is charged for any facility, officials said, adding there are also arrangements for bonfires.

“The arrangements are aimed at preventing cold-related distress among destitute, homeless and vulnerable individuals, as minimum temperatures have been hovering around 8–9 degrees Celsius, with maximum temperatures remaining in the 14–15 degrees Celsius range,” the DM said.

Officials said the focus has shifted from merely ensuring the nightery shelters’ availability to making sure access and enforcement, particularly in pavement stretches, traffic intersections and fog-prone zones, where exposure to cold remains high during night and early morning hours.

According to data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Gautam Budh Nagar recorded a minimum temperature of 9.9 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, reflecting continued cold conditions across the district. While the maximum temperature data was not available in the evening update, the IMD forecast indicated that daytime temperatures are likely to remain around 18 degrees Celsius, with dense fog persisting through the day.