Delhi govt brings Winter Action Plan for homeless people, 195 shelter homes ready for over 17,000 people
Dec 13, 2022
New Delhi [India], December 13 : Delhi Government has launched the Winter Action Plan for homeless people in the national capital in order to protect them from weather adversities.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia On Tuesday reviewed the plan with senior officials of various concerned departments.
To ensure the benefit of the facility reach the maximum number of people, the Delhi government has set up a 24x7 centralised control room and has also issued helpline numbers. People can inform Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) about the homeless through this helpline and DUSIB's rescue team will reach the location to take the homeless to the nearest shelter.
Speaking about the night shelter facility, Manish Sisodia said, "The Delhi Government is determined to provide a dignified life to every person residing in the capital, including homeless people. To ensure that no one is left out in the cold during the peak winter season, the government has established fooding and lodging facilities for homeless people across 195 shelter homes which have the capacity of accommodating over 17000 people."
Sisodia added that the government will increase the capacity of these shelters if needed in winter.
Briefing the Deputy Chief Minister about the Winter Action Plan, the officials of DUSIB, who is responsible for managing the night shelter facility across the capital primarily, along with the existing facilities of food, lodging and medical care at the Rain Baseras, DUSIB has also established a 24x7 control room. Anyone willing to get homeless people rescued from any part of Delhi can call on DUSIB's three helpline numbers or the "Rain Basera App".
The officials also said that DUSIB has set up 15 rescue teams, each equipped with one vehicle, for surveillance and rescuing the homeless. So far over 1,500 homeless people have been rescued by these teams in the past few weeks. On receiving information from the DUSIB control room or from any other sources the rescue teams immediately respond to pick up the homeless from the identified location and take them to the nearest shelter home.
Notably, 195 night shelters for homeless people in Delhi include 19 for families, 17 for women, four for drug addicts and three recovery shelters. The facilities provided to the people in these government shelter homes are food, lodging, lockers, complaint boxes, ambulance and free medical facilities, three meals per day, free medicines, etc. Along with this, people staying at the shelter homes can also avail themselves of free medical services at the Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinic nearby.
