From living under flyovers in freezing cold to seeking refuge in shelter homes infested with rodents, Delhi's poor and homeless have a harsh time in the winters which have been very severe this time.
Huge halls, less mattresses and rats biting onto the already tattered blankets -- these are the scenes that greet one at most of the night shelters in the national capital.
This is also the condition of the Raja Garden shelter home in west Delhi. The shelter, divided into family, women's and men's sections, is home to 85 homeless people.
The bulk of which -- 70 of them -- are putting up in the men's section with two people sharing one mattress.
"The freezing cold outside would only result in more people coming to the shelter home. The mattresses are not adequate here currently. Two people are sharing one mattress. Many, with no option left, are sleeping on a cot in this biting cold," said Sachin Thakur, who also doubles up as one of the caretakers of the shelter home.
The Raja Garden shelter home, also known as rain-basera, is one of the 270 shelter homes established by the Delhi government with aim to give relief to homeless, labourers from nail-biting cold at a time when the national capital has witnessed a long spell of cold wave, with temperatures dropping to 1.4 degrees Celsius in some parts.
A Delhi government official said of the 270 night shelters, 177 are functioning in buildings and porta cabins while 93 night shelters are functioning in tents.
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This year, the official said, around 10,000 people -- 3,000 less than last year -- are using these shelters across the national capital.
Teams of doctors go to night shelters twice a week and these shelters have television sets, heaters and blankets, the official said.
At the Raja Garden shelter home, the family section which was visibly less crowded at 11 in the night, according to one visitor, too fills up late in the night. The women's section has 12 beds, it is furnished with a new water dispenser, trunks, LCD TV.
Abandoned by family and putting up in the women's section for more than one year now, 58-year-old Babli was more or less satisfied with the facilities at the shelter.
Her major worry, even more than the biting cold, was the "huge influx of rats".
"The roof which is a bit torn here and there gives these rodents the passage to come and infest the whole shelter home. We have already complained about it. Hopefully it will get resolved sooner and later," she said.
The situation is more or less similar at another centre at Kashmere Gate.
Shailender Singh, 32, in-charge of the night shelter at Kashmere Gate said their job is to ensure that nobody sleeps outside in such a freezing weather.
"Our rescue van plies on the roads from 10 pm to 4 am and whoever we see on roads, we take him to the shelter house. The Delhi Police also helps us in rescuing people from roadside. From 9.30 pm, we start our rescue task," he said.
Singh said the cancelled orders from Swiggy and Zomato are delivered to the home while they also try to provide food to the inmates through CSR and NGOs.
Satbir Kashyap (30), a labourer seeking shelter here, said they only have the option of blankets to shield themselves from biting cold as they cannot light a fire inside the premises of the shelter home.
While some complained about food, some others complained about lack of space and potable water.
But not many feel safe in the shelter homes.
Not far from the shelter home, near the Rajouri Metro station sitting with his wife under open sky with only a thin layer of cot as his defence from dropping mercury was Tarun Kant.
A migrant from Madhya Pradesh, physically challenged Kant said he feels more "secure and safe" here than the shelter home.
"I have heard stories that people there drink and get into fights. I can not see myself being involved in such fights. I am happy being here near the metro station. It is safe also as many police cars come and patrol the area at night," said the 40-year-old.
But there are many like Sunil Gupta (40), an auto-rickshaw driver, for whom sitting indoors during cold is not an option.
"Our duty is hard but we see our brave soldiers doing there work in temperature less than zero. This is our job and we have to do it," Gupta said.