Open house: What steps should the administration take to look out for homeless people amid cold wave?

Provide hassle-free access to shelters

Homelessness has become a serious issue, especially during the winter season when many people are compelled to spend the night at railway stations, bus terminals, thoroughfares and in slums. To tackle the issue, the administration should establish and maintain ready-to-use night shelter, adequate in numbers and equipped with basic amenities such as beds, blankets and sanitation. These shelter homes should have hassle-free access without requiring any identity proof for a limited specific period, as many homeless individuals may not have the same. To improve the capacity and quality of night shelters, the administration can take additional steps like providing more blankets, warm clothing, water, food and hygiene. By seeking the cooperation of NGOs and other charity organisations, the administration can ensure that these individuals do not get to spend their nights in the open in the chill. However, the government must address the underlying causes of homelessness, such as poverty, unemployment, migration, social exclusion and legal wrangles like in the case of Latifpura victims of Jalandhar Improvement Trust. The government can provide opportunities for their rehabilitation and integration. Besides, the administration can allocate more funds to support NGOs and community groups that provide self-contained accommodation and coordinate outreach services among different agencies to assist homeless individuals who are reluctant or unable to access shelter homes. Finally, long-term solutions such as increasing the availability of affordable housing and providing adequate support for mental health, substance abuse and employment issues should be implemented to prevent homelessness.

Dr Kulwant Singh Phull

Question for next week

While there is much ado about looking after and protecting cows, a number of cattle heads —abandoned by their owners because of some illness or injury — can be spotted near Burlton Park, Maqsudan and Nakodar Road, among other areas. Though gaushalas accept hefty donations to look after cattle, not one of them has risen to the occasion. What should be done to ensure that such cattle are not left to fend for themselves amid the winter chill?

Suggestions in not more than 200 words can be sent to jalandhardesk@tribunemail.com by Thursday (Jan 18)

Ensure proper upkeep of care homes

The bone-chilling cold has thrown normal life out of gear. The rich and the fortunate have all the amenities at their disposal to counter the cold waves. However, it is a question of life and death for the poor and the homeless. They are forced to spend cold nights either in the open or in any accessible building. There are many care centres and houses in the city. Unfortunately, most of them are dysfunctional. Since they are not maintained properly, they don’t cater to the needs of the homeless. The government should take cognisance of the issue and get the inspection of care houses done every year before the winter sets in. They should be made functional before the harsh weather announces its arrival. The responsibility to keep care houses fully ready lies with the administration. It should be done at a proper time simply to resolve issues that hinder the upkeep of care houses. Blame game has to be avoided. Secondly, all have to become sensitive towards the homeless as every life matters. A sensitive soul can save the homeless.

Prof Rajan Kapoor, Nakodar

Schools shut, utilise their rooms, verandah

Rise in population is a major cause why people sleep without a shelter in the open even in bitter cold. Raen Baseras, shelter homes and ashrams are constructed for the needy to keep themselves warm when the mercury dips but the increasing number of needy every year upsets the administration’s plans. Though there are number of schemes to deliver houses to those who need them, the number of people eligible for allotment also increases. In the past, the administration provided alao (fireplace) for the people during bitter cold to keep themselves warm at specified places but these are becoming old-fashioned. Since the schools are shut down due to cold wave, rooms and verandahs of schools and colleges can be used temporarily to provide relief and shelter from the bitter cold. Social organisations and the administration distribute blankets and shawls to the needy but it falls short of a wholesome redress. Every year, the issue gets highlighted, but the conditions remain the same next year also. The civic body should provide fireplaces (alao & angithi) where people can sit together and keep themselves warm.

Rajat Kumar Mohindru

Rope in volunteers to help the homeless

The months of December and January are of intense cold in the northern parts of the country. As a consequence of mercury hovering around zero degree Celsius, Punjab and its adjoining areas shiver. The extreme weather is causing inconvenience to the public in many ways due to dense fog and biting cold, especially during the nights. There are reports of accidents occurring everyday due to low visibility on roads, caused by the foggy conditions. Owing to climatic disturbances, showers and chilly winds are likely to impact the routine, making life miserable for daily wage earners and the poor with no permanent shelter. Though in some cities enough shelter homes and ashrams exist, yet they fail to provide relief to the affected due to lack of empathy on the part of officials or bad management. However, in most towns, raen baseras (temporary shelters) are neither adequate nor properly maintained. Sanitation facilities are poor. Some shelter homes at various places remain non-functional despite government grants and heavy donations from the public. There are cases when elements addicted to drugs or involved in other nefarious activities prefer to stay at abandoned places, knowingly avoiding shelter homes for fear of being traced and caught. Urgent action is needed to curb this. A dedicated task force of government officials and volunteers may be engaged to coordinate efforts so that nobody loses life for want of food or shelter because of the vagaries of weather.

Nirmaljit Singh Chatrath

Ensure accountability on part of agencies

Since November till date, countless underprivileged people have slept under the open sky in the most chilling season of the year. Despite numerous raen baseras in the state, the government fails to provide proper shelter for the poor. Many NGOs in Punjab take enormous sums of money in the name of helping these people, but no change is seen in any way that has contributed to minimising the sufferings of these people. This raises a question mark on the accountability of poor people’s welfare. The onus is obviously on those administrative bodies and privately-run institutions that are raising funds in the name of the underprivileged. The government should restore the faith of the common man by following certain steps. Raen Baseras and ashrams should be in perfect working condition and ready to accommodate a large number of people for every winter beforehand. For now, temporary shelters such as tents should be set up along with a one-time meal programme. Also, a regular check should be conducted at all NGOs and donation homes that claim to have taken care of these people. Simultaneously, seek an account of all the donations made to them. If the organisations are found guilty, then any form of donation made to them should be considered illegal and that institution should be immediately banned from getting aid.

Lakshit Jindal

Centralised helpline, mobile vans can help

The harsh cold conditions are very challenging for the poor and destitute who are without any viable shelter. The administration has to be proactive in dealing with this emergency-like situation to mitigate the sufferings. There is no dearth of charitable organisations offering food and shelter. What the administration can do is to provide a centralised helpline to streamline and coordinate with all available facilities. Such centralised agency may arrange a mobile van to move in and around the city to ferry those who are found lacking proper and adequate shelter to lodge them in identified locations falling in the area. It is required as most needy persons are not aware of the facilities existing in the city. It also has to be ensured that food and other basic amenities at such centres are available to them. In case the accommodation commonly available is not sufficient, temporary extra tents can be erected at such places.

Jagdish Chander

Create database, trained manpower

No doubt the homeless need shelter on an urgent basis because of the severe weather conditions. A Raen Basera is the best place where these helpless people can have a temporary shelter. Unfortunately, barring a few, most raen baseras are without basic amenities. The government has not provided the needed infrastructure there. This is the reason why we see people from the deprived class at bus stands or railway stations. A proper raen basera should have adequate space, hygiene, proper arrangements for sleeping, food and basic medical facilities. The government should form a proper agency which should look after the deprived class who reside here temporarily. A proper database should be generated of how many such people exist in the cities and budgetary allocation should be made accordingly in advance. Above all, trained manpower should be provided to these raen baseras who can understand the problems of the homeless and provide customised solutions.

Harvinder Singh Chugh

Tough to suggest any final solution

The temperatures colder than Shimla and the unending fog in Amritsar during winter compel you to ponder over the plight of those homeless vagrants who are obliged to sleep in the open though well protected under plastic sheets and old quilts. We thought that squatting on footpaths was confined only to Mumbai as depicted in Raj Kapoor’s 1954 blockbuster ‘Shri 420’. An idea of the real number of the homeless here can be formed in summer, when they occupy all open spaces, park benches and footpaths near religious places and get up to change into their professional gear of begging, which cannot be legally banned. It is a profession. But motorists and pedestrians should not encourage begging by giving cash. The common denominator of these squatters is that they don’t speak Punjabi. It is difficult to suggest any final solution because these dwellers of railway properties and bridge-ramps choose their own ‘raen baseras’ near their place of earning. They don’t ask for anything except cash. Ideally, their kids should be sent to special schools since they don’t speak Punjabi. The elders should be housed on the lines of the inmates of the leprosarium on Chabhal road and trained to do some manual work. But we should not forget that they have Aadhaar cards, they are a vote bank too and any shift in their status is likely to disturb vested interests. On the other hand, let February dawn and sensitive minds like us will cease to feel for these unfortunate Bharatiyas who are deemed to be an eye sore. Any solid attempt to house them is sure to invite new settlers.

Prof Mohan Singh

The homeless should reassess priorities

In spite of the bitter cold, the homeless do not stay in shelter houses and raen baseras built for them. The main unsaid reason for this is that all these are built by people who belong to the middle class whose social values, morality and priorities do not suit the lifestyle of the homeless for whom these were built. A survey was published in this newspaper in the 1980s. It was about the homeless living by the side of Jagraon Bridge in Ludhiana. Most men and women were living together without marriage and were fond of hooch, drugs and tobacco. They had no liking for education and jobs. They thought that there was more pleasure in their lives than in the lives of people leading a civilised life. The best thing would be to convince them that they can lead a normal life like other people and become good citizens. They can stay in shelters and raen baseras built for them and do their jobs during the daytime and avoid alcohol and drugs etc.

Prem Parkash Punj

Prevent rough sleeping

The blame falls on city administration as it is its primary responsibility to prevent rough sleeping. The secondary responsibility falls upon shelter homes that take hefty donations for taking care of the underprivileged. They both are equally responsible. Better late than never, so goes the proverb. Still, they should both act swiftly to save the underprivileged from spending cold nights in the open.

Sanjay Chawla