Cold claims lives of homeless; pitch for 'bigger' shelters

The intense cold wave has claimed seven lives in Delhi over the last two days alone, taking the toll of homeless people this month to around 120, an NGO claimed today.
As per the Zonal Integrated Police Network, at least 150 unidentified bodies have been found in Delhi in January. "Homeless people constitute 80 per cent of that figure," Centre for Holistic Development (CHD) said.
Sunil Kumar Aledia of CHD said, contrary to official claims, the existing shelters for the homeless were not capable of housing more than 9,000 people as the per capita space allotted was "far less" than the original masterplan.

On Monday, bodies of the homeless persons, aged 25, 70, 40, 25 and 50 were found at Connaught Place, CR Park, Civil Lines, and Kashmere Gate, while two were found in the Kashmere Gate area yesterday.
Delhi Government's estimate pegs the number of homeless in the city at 16,760, while activists working in the field maintain that the figure should be not less than 1.80 lakh.
The current arrangements, including 84 permanent shelters, 111 porta cabins, 49 tents, two shelters managed by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), can house 18,181 people, according to the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB).

Aledia said the government estimate is "inflated" as the shelters cover an area of around 2.5 lakh sq feet as against 19 lakh sq feet space required as per the Delhi Master Plan for 2021.
As per numbers collated from Zonal Integrated Police Network and Ministry of Home Affairs, around 350 homeless died over the last two months since the onset of the cold, Aledia said.