Delhi education and urban development minister Manish Sisodia has ordered a probe into the death of six homeless persons who died allegedly due to cold in Nigambodh Ghat area. Police have sent the bodies of the five men and one woman for post-mortem.
According to deputy commissioner of police (north) Sindhu Pillai, as many as 11 deaths have been reported in the neighbourhood of Kashmere Gate area in the last two months.
‘It is a very unfortunate incident. Despite shelter homes being there in various parts of the city, people are forced to live in the open in this freezing cold,’ Sisodia said. ‘It is gross negligence on part of the in-charge of Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board of the area from where deaths were reported,’ he added.
The rain and cold wave on Friday night is being blamed for the loss of these six lives. Delhi temperature did not go beyond a numbing 12.9 degree Celsius throughout Friday.
Before winter descended in Delhi, the Delhi Urban Shelter improvement Board (DUSB) on 27 November 27 told the Delhi High Court that it would ensure that not a single person will be forced to spend the night in the open.
‘A day or two ago, building materials had come for a night shelter in the neighbouring area of Yamuna Pushta, but later they shifted the construction materials to another locality,’ said Shyam, a homeless who lives in one of the night shelters at Nighambodh Ghat, pointing out that the shelters are heavily crowded.
The Delhi government had on 2 January announced that it would be opening 100 new night shelters across the city over the next few days with a view to providing relief to the homeless from the biting cold. After 16 days, about 55 shelters have been added to the existing 175, pushing the capacity to 16,000, said government sources.
Early this month AAP ministers, Manish Sisodia and Rakhi Birla had carried out night inspections to assess the condition of homeless in Delhi.
The government had even promised more night shelters and better amenities for the homeless.
Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board has set up several night shelters for homeless people in the area but they are not enough for the large number of people thronging them daily.