20/07/2000: [news item] For whom the streets are their home

For whom the streets are their home

Daily Pioneer, 20.07.2000

Devesh K Pandey/New Delhi

There are more than 100,000 homeless roaming the streets of Delhi; begging, providing cheap labour, taking drugs, and sleeping under the open sky.

Of these around 34,000 are children. These people are deprived of good health care, nutritious food, sympathy; often painted as anti-socials by police.

According to a rapid assessment by "Aashray Adhikar Abhiyan", a Non-governmental organisation, 52,765 people were found sleeping on the streets, during a survey conducted between midnight to morning (6:00 a.m.) from June 5 to June 16. However, "The head count of the shelterless would be three fold the existing statistics," said Director of "Aashray Adhikar Abhiyan," Indu Prakash Singh.

He said that Delhi was divided into seven zones for rapid assessment of the shelterless. "The operation, which commenced on June 5 was started in the walled City where our surveyors encountered around 15,595, the maximum number of such people. Second after that with the maximum count was in the North Delhi area (8,391)," he said.

While elaborating on the kind of people the survey team met, Mr Singh said that these people could be classified into three sections. The first section is the "most visible" section. It was mainly spotted around the Walled city and Old Delhi areas. This section consists of shelterless who have migrated to the states like West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

These people, he added, live in groups and are employed by the shop keepers who want a round-the-clock worker and chowkidar. "They spend their nights on shop verandas, simultaneously, keeping an eye on the shop. And these people can start their work early in the morning to the comfort of shop keepers," he said.

Mr Bhardwaje, Consultant with the organisation said that the other section constituted the migrants - victims of a "push factor". He said that in Delhi most of the migrant-shelterless had come to escape the problems in their area, which should not be thought merely to be a pull factor of the capital city. These people sell their organs or are professional blood donors. A large chunk of this section is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.

"Running away from one's family and then facing destitution, depression and disillusionment, these people take to drugs. This follows other mental ailments as well," he added. Mr Singh said that they also develop a suicidal tendency. "Besides, being looked upon as criminals by the police also brings them down in the eyes of the society," he added.

The third section, which are not-so-visible, constitute abandoned children, run away, and the human-seed taking shape in mother's womb and mothers who have been deserted or who were born on the streets themselves. "This section and the second section poses a real threat to the validity of the demographic statistics of the city. And owing to this the welfare programs are unable to cover the desired population," Mr Bhardwaje said.

He said that after rapid assessment, the organisation would go in for a detailed study. The first step then would be sensitisation of the society through interactive meetings, audio-visual and print media and street plays - to make them understand the problems faced by the shelterless. The procedure will also include running two shelters as demonstration models.

Mr Singh informed that soon "Aashray Adhikar Abhiyan" would be given the responsibility to run a night shelter, which will be renamed as "Vishram Griha." There, the organisation has decided to provide the health care facility and a separate room for women and children.

He informed that this rapid assessment operation was carried out with the help of the Non-governmental organisations like Prayas, Sahara, Mukti Aashram, Pravah and Navjyoti Foundation, constituting 38 survey members.