Labourers, truckers brave chill in the open

Mohit Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 10

The night shelter at Transport Nagar in Sector 26 is lying closed for past six months leaving truckers and labourers working in the nearby Grain Market to brave the chill in the open.

The state-of-the-art infrastructure meant for the poor is gathering dust due to official apathy, complained people working at Transport Nagar.

The night shelter is lying in a shambles. There is a wild growth alongside the night shelter.

Avinash Chander, working as a parking contractor at Transport Nagar, said electricity supply of the night shelter had been snapped due to non-payment of dues.

He said several people had offered to run the night shelter, but the UT authorities were neither running it nor hiring anyone to operate the same.

Sanjiv Sharma, who runs a dhaba in Transport Nagar, said he had offered to run the night shelter.

“It is located close to our dhaba so we had offered the authorities to run it. As it is getting colder, the night shelter could offer a great relief to the poor and the needy,” said Sanjiv.

At midnight, truckers can be seen cuddled on the front seat of their respective vehicles. Most truckers had even hung quilts on the windscreens to insulate the cubicle (front seat area). There were many who have made their makeshift tents to protect themselves from the chill.

“We are not driving any pleasure by remaining stuffed in the truck like chickens. Look at our condition. We have travelled from far-off places, but did not find a decent place to sleep. The night shelter located in Transport Nagar has been locked. It gets really cold and spending a night in the truck becomes difficult,” said Ajay Mehta from Himachal Pradesh, who was sitting inside the truck, along with two others.

At the Grain Market located a few meters away from Transport Nagar, labourers were seen sitting around the fire to protect themselves from the winter.

“We are poor. We are not in a position to spend thousands of rupees on staying in a hotel for a night. Earlier, the night shelter used to remain a safe destination to spend a night. But ever since it was closed, we are left with no other option but to brave the vagaries of weather,” said Sunil Kumar from Uttar Pradesh, who was sitting with other labourer around bonfire.

Ravi, another employee of the parking lot at Transport Nagar, said it is a sorry state of affair. While the building is lying closed, people are forced to look for a place to spend the night.