DUSIB shuts doors for a week; homeless people left in a lurch

New Delhi: Amid what has now started to resemble the migrant worker crisis in Delhi last year when the pandemic began, the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) has now said that it will have to follow the week-long lockdown guidelines issued by the DDMA here — essentially meaning the around 6-7,000 homeless people and migrant workers living in these shelter homes will not be allowed out, which is now set to see tens of thousands of others struggle to find a roof over their heads.

As per officials, all the lockdown guidelines announced by Delhi Government will be followed in shelter homes. "There is no food crisis in the shelter home. We were providing lunch, dinner and now soon breakfast will be provided," Bipin Rai, a member of DUSIB said.

Rai further said they will ensure that no one leaves the shelter homes unless for a medical emergency. "Between 6,000-7,000 homeless people are currently housed in our shelters and proper care will be taken," the official said, adding that "in a limited manner, they will go outside but only if their needs are urgent".

While the over 300 shelter homes across Delhi, including temporary, portacabins, and RCC buildings, had a capacity to house up to 19,000 inmates till before the pandemic, restrictions have now brought this down to 10,000.

Millennium Post spoke to caretakers of several DUSIB's shelter homes about the fate of homeless people and migrant workers who failed to make it to a shelter before 10 pm on Monday night. One caretaker of a Shahdara shelter home said that many homeless people who usually squat at spots known for charity work, started rushing to his shelter home. "Many people used to donate clothes to these homeless. They also used to give them food but after the lockdown was announced, the donors will not come out of their homes for donation. So these homeless have come to shelter homes," another caretaker said.

One caretaker, managing a home in South East Delhi said, "We, on a humanitarian ground, allow homeless people in distress to enter the shelter home as per our bed capacity. If beds are full we refer them to other homes." He went on to add many had left during Holi and never came back while some had left after the lockdown announcement.

Many of the "homeless" who seek shelter here are oftentimes migrant workers or daily wage labourers, who like the previous lockdown or due to landlord disputes, are rendered homeless in seconds.

Rai also said that if homeless people and migrant workers knock on their door, they will first get a basic medical screening for symptoms and only then allow them in based on availability and other requirements.

As per caretakers, few people in their shelters create a ruckus after drinking or do not follow the guidelines but by and large, most inmates have seen the havoc the contagious disease wreaked last year so they understand the situation and have chosen to stay inside.

According to one DUSIB official, while they have written to the government for vaccinating their shelter home caretakers, they are yet to get a reply to this.

Meanwhile, Delhi Police are regularly making announcements near shelter homes for maintaining social distancing. "Needy people are also being helped with masks, sanitisers," one official said.

And since the pandemic, as homeless people have died on the streets, a major challenge has been to assume they are Covid-19 positive and take required precautions. Just in Kashmere Gate, one of the major spots for homeless people to live, 24 bodies were recovered in less than a month (March 19-April 5).