UP: CM Yogi govt working towards protecting poor from cold wave in state

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], January 7 : As the spine-chilling cold wave swept across North and Northwestern India, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed the officials from his government to actively monitor the entire arrangement of night shelters, blankets and bonfires for the poor people in the state.
The Yogi government has bought a total of 4,96,883 blankets for distribution in all 75 districts of the state of which more than 2,86,740 have already been given to the needy.
Besides this, more than 1,220-night shelters with the capacity to accommodate 29,228 people have been established while 14,043 places have been identified for lighting bonfires across the state and bonfires are being lit at more than 12,594 public places every day, informed the government through an official release.
Earlier in December, Yogi visited Gorakhpur to inspect the ground reality of night shelters.
Following the CM's instructions, District Magistrates and other officers are conducting surprise inspections of the night shelters to ensure that no one sleeps on the streets in the inclement weather conditions and every needy avail of the facility.
Distribution of relief materials like blankets is being done continuously through public representatives like local MPs, MLAs, and civic body chairmen.
Attention is also being paid to maintaining cleanliness and sanitation at all the night shelters in line with the CM's directive.
The local administrations are making arrangements for sanitization to prevent the novel coronavirus. Arrangements for quilts, blankets, mattresses and pillows have been made smoothly at all the permanent and temporary night shelters while officers are monitoring its requirements from time to time and also addressing them.
Separate arrangements are being made for the families at night shelters.
As the distribution of blankets continues across the state, a maximum number of 16, 379 blankets have been distributed in Hardoi so far, followed by 9,894 in Prayagraj. For Kahsi, 10,988 blankets have been purchased of which over 7,065 blankets have been distributed. In Ayodhya, 4,320 needy people have received blankets so far, said the government.
Currently, as per the reports, 1,029 people are staying in night shelters in Kanpur city and 1,962 in Lucknow while in Prayagraj arrangements have been made for 1,228 people in the night shelter built by the government.
In Aligarh, arrangements have been made to accommodate 954 destitute in the night shelter.
A total of 916-night shelters have been set up in Varanasi, 893 in Ghaziabad, 840 in Kasganj, and 748 in Gautam Budh Nagar. More than 660 people are staying in night shelters in Bareilly.
Furthermore, arrangements for bonfires have been made at 724 places in Lucknow, 505 in Aligarh, 429 in Prayagraj, 411 in Unnao, 402 in Bijnor, 370 in Hardoi, 306 in Meerut, 294 in Siddharthnagar and 283 in Mau, 262 in Saharanpur, 256 in Moradabad, 255 in Shahjahanpur, 252 in Ghazipur, and 252 in Jaunpur 246. Bonfires are being lit daily at 233 places in Sitapur.