NEW DELHI: Amid a dip in the mercury in the national capital, the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) has set up 190 tents across the city to provide shelter to the homeless. These tents can accommodate approximately 8,000 people. Around 60 tents have been kept as standby and will be used as per requirement, said Member Expert, DUSIB, Bipin Rai.
The national capital recorded its coldest day of the month as the minimum temperature dropped to 5.3 degrees Celsius, two notches below the season’s average, according to the India Meteorological Department. “We have set up 190 special tents as of now and 60 tents have been kept as standby. We usually keep 350 tents ready and deploy them as per requirement. Approximately 8,000 people have been staying in the tents at night and around 4,000 during the day,” Rai said.
“On an average, we rescue 200 to 300 people a day from various locations. Earlier, we used to provide tea and snacks to them but now we have started providing meals three times a day,” he said.The DUSIB began shifting homeless people to temporary tent shelters set up as part of the city government’s winter action plan in December 2023.
A total of 15 rescue teams have been deployed to create awareness about the arrangements. The teams identify clusters of homeless people and inform the control room, which sends volunteers to shift such people to the temporary shelters. Doctors also visit these shelters twice a week.
According to the government, 195 DUSIB shelter homes with a total capacity of 7,092 people are functional in the city at present. DUSIB teams pick up homeless people living on roads or in open spaces every day and each rescue team is equipped with one vehicle, driver and two attendants.
The teams then pick them up from the identified location and take them to a nearby shelter or hospital as needed.The shelters are equipped with facilities such as drinking water, toilets, lockers for belongings, complaint boxes, first aid boxes and televisions. Each shelter home has a caretaker, who is available for eight hours every day, and a female security guard.
15 rescue teams deployed to spread awareness
The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board began shifting homeless people to temporary tent shelters set up as part of the city government’s winter action plan in December 2023. A total of 15 rescue teams have been deployed to create awareness about the arrangements. The teams identify clusters of homeless people and inform the control room, which sends volunteers to shift such people to the temporary shelters. Doctors also visit these shelters twice a week.
