Homeless people sleeping outside AIIMS in New Delhi.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Homeless people are being denied entry to night shelters on being unable to produce an Aadhaar card or furnish a cell phone number, some of those seeking the facility alleged.
A senior officer of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), which has set up the facilities across the national capital, denied the charge, saying no homeless person is being denied entry.
The officer, however, said the staff members present at each night shelter have been instructed to maintain details of people who are residing there.
‘Maintaining records’
“They have been instructed to collect Aadhaar details of the occupants, if not that then at least their phone numbers. Nobody seeking shelter is being turned away. Homeless people are suggested to visit some other facility in case of the unavailability of a bed at a site,” the officer added.
The Chief Minister’s Office did not respond to queries on the issue.
DUSIB has set up 197 shelters to accommodate over 7,000 people across the Delhi under its Winter Action Plan. These shelters are supposed to provide basic amenities, including mattresses, blankets, drinking water, and functional toilets, to homeless people.
However, 42-year-old Sanjog, huddled in tattered blankets on a bed made of tarpaulin outside a pagoda tent set up along Lodhi Road, said the authorities did not allow him to sleep inside the facility despite the availability of beds there.
“They asked me to produce my Aadhaar card or give a cell phone number,” said the Raebareli resident.
He said for a vagabond like him who works as a scrap collector and lives on roadsides, producing a permanent identity card is difficult and a phone number a luxury.
“It’s difficult to manage two square meals a day. From where will I get a phone?” he said.
Beside him lay 39-year-old Tejvir, who too was “denied” a bed at the night shelter due to the unavailability of an Aadhaar card.
“I told officials that I don’t have an Aadhaar card but had a photograph of my voter ID card in my phone, which I lost while working in the Kashmere Gate area last month. Despite my pleas, they did not let me in,” he said.
Increased scrutiny for some
Meanwhile, at a night shelter in the Kashmere Gate area, occupants complained of being scrutinised on showing their Aadhaar cards bearing names of places located in West Bengal.
Miraj Sk., 45, hailing from the State’s Bardhaman region, told The Hindu that in the past few weeks, he has noticed an increase in scrutiny whenever a Bengali-speaking person comes to his night shelter.
“I have been living in this night shelter for the past few weeks. Despite furnishing my Aadhaar card details and phone number, every few days they have been enquiring about my home town. They asked me a couple of times where Bardhaman is located and how far it is from the Bangladesh border,” he said.
He said the same treatment is being meted out to every Bengali-speaking person.
“They do not enquire about exact locations or home towns of those coming from U.P., Bihar or Haryana, but when a Bengali person turns up, such questions are raised,” he said, adding that many who do not possess Aadhaar cards are simply denied a bed.
Published – December 23, 2024 12:49 am IST