LUCKNOW: Even as the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) has established 54 night shelter homes with a total capacity of about 1,800 beds — 27 each for permanent and temporary stays — a reality check by TOI revealed that many people are sleeping in the open in chilly weather conditions. The problem is attributed to overcrowded
LMC
shelter houses and to lack of awareness among the
homeless
. TOI visited over a dozen shelter homes in various parts of the city including Parivatan Chowk, Aminabad, Daliganj, Chowk, Lakshman Mela ground, Husainabad, Gomtinagar, and Vikasnagar to find that some permanent
shelters
had beds, temporary shelters were fully occupied.
There are four shelters between Hanuman Setu and Parivartan Chowk — two operated by LMC and two by NGOs — which offer over 150 beds and all of them were occupied. In Daliganj, there were vacant beds at a permanent shelter home, yet within a 200-metre radius, people were sleeping under the railway overbridge. In Husainabad and Aminabad, each with four shelter homes, faced a similar situation, as did other areas. Most people sleeping in the open made a temporary shelter with a trampoline or were battling the cold with a single blanket. Those who didn’t get a bed urged LMC to increase the number of beds.
Ajay Kumar of Malihabad and a daily wage worker, said: “I went to a shelter home at Parivartan Chowk but it was full. As I work in Kaiserbagh, it would be a hassle for me to go to any other shelter home.”
Sarvan from Sitapur, another daily wager, said, “The facilities in shelter homes are fine, but we get late to reach here and find no space. We have to sleep on footpaths.” Rajesh, a rickshaw puller from Mahmudabad, sleeping under the railway overbridge in Daliganj, said he was not aware of any permanent shelter home.
Mohammad Suhail, a social worker distributing blankets to the homeless, emphasized the need for proper announcements and notifications, especially for migrant workers and the illiterate. He suggested that authorities should convey messages about facilities, particularly during winter.
Balbir Singh, president of NGO ‘Umeed,’ emphasized the necessity for more temporary shelter homes around the city.
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