Night shelters for homeless needed

More than 10 per cent of the pavement dwellers in the city are injured or killed in road accidents

Night shelters for pavement dwellers is still to become a priority for either the civic body or the state government, in spite of the increase in the number of pavement accidents in the city.

More than 10 per cent of the homeless population in the city are either injured or killed in road accidents. The city has over a lakh of pavement dwellers. They need a shelter at night where they can sleep paying a minimal charge.  While Delhi has 12 such shelters for homeless and migrant labourers, Mumbai is yet to get one.

A group of volunteers from Alternative Realities, an organisation working for the homeless in the city, have began demanding  night shelters. The Carter Road carnage involving Alistair Pereira last year was the driving point for the demand. Civic authorities have not yet taken a serious cognisance of the demand.

A proposal for night shelter was submitted by the volunteers to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation in March 2006. The authorities replied that the city does not have enough space for an alternative shelter for the homeless.

“In our proposal we had suggested that the BMC schools can be converted into night shelters. They have not replied to us,” said Abhishek Bharadwaj of Alternative Realities, who began with this campaign four years ago. “Municipality schools having huge infrastructure remain unutilised during night time. It would be extremely beneficial if some of the classrooms of each municipality school are used as transit shelters for the homeless citizens”, added Bharadwaj.

In another proposal, Bharadwaj and his team had suggested that the Beggar’s Home at Chembur be converted as an open shelter. They met Vandana Krishna of the state’s Women and Child Welfare Department, which manages the home. “In the meeting, we raised the issue that pavement dwellers, especially children, are being booked under the Beggary Prevention Act”, said Bharadwaj.