Chandigarh:
Come winters and most of us prefer to stay within the comforts of our homes. But not everyone has the luxury. The less fortunate lot who spend their lives on the pavements and roads can only depend on night shelters to protect themselves and their families from the biting cold.
Even though, the government constructs night shelters for the poor they never match up to the numbers. Hence, many are still forced to live on the streets.
Meet Noni and her family who live at one street in Chandigarh. And their struggle begins here.
Up in the wee hours of the morning, while most of us are still in bed, four-year-old Noni is forced to accompany his parents to work braving Chandigarh's fierce winter chill.
While Noni's parents scrounge through dirt and slurry for something to sell, he plays in the garbage bare feet and as a result he is running slight fever and cold.
"Our child is suffering from cold and cough. Every day, we have get medicines for him, but nothing helps. We can't afford warm clothes that will protect him from the cold," said Dinesh Kumar, Noni's father.
Noni's parents are rag pickers and manage to somehow earn Rs100 a day just enough to buy two meals. So they cannot afford to stay home, neither can they keep Noni out of harm's way.
As the sun begins to disappear and their long day nears an end, it's time to sell what they have collected and go back and get ready to brave the fierce night ahead.
Back home to a structure that has no door and only a polythene sheet with holes to call it roof, they light up a small cooking fire and sit around it to get some respite from the cold.
"We have just one quilt, which we share. The child complains of cold at night," said Mamta Kumari, Noni's mother.
"It's sad we can't keep our kids warm," says Noni's father lamenting on his desperation.
For Noni and many other children like him the only source of warmth is clinging to their mothers.
While government claims it has been successful in eradicating poverty to a great extent, such examples show what the real achievements are.
Even though, the government constructs night shelters for the poor they never match up to the numbers. Hence, many are still forced to live on the streets.
Meet Noni and her family who live at one street in Chandigarh. And their struggle begins here.
Up in the wee hours of the morning, while most of us are still in bed, four-year-old Noni is forced to accompany his parents to work braving Chandigarh's fierce winter chill.
While Noni's parents scrounge through dirt and slurry for something to sell, he plays in the garbage bare feet and as a result he is running slight fever and cold.
"Our child is suffering from cold and cough. Every day, we have get medicines for him, but nothing helps. We can't afford warm clothes that will protect him from the cold," said Dinesh Kumar, Noni's father.
Noni's parents are rag pickers and manage to somehow earn Rs100 a day just enough to buy two meals. So they cannot afford to stay home, neither can they keep Noni out of harm's way.
As the sun begins to disappear and their long day nears an end, it's time to sell what they have collected and go back and get ready to brave the fierce night ahead.
Back home to a structure that has no door and only a polythene sheet with holes to call it roof, they light up a small cooking fire and sit around it to get some respite from the cold.
"We have just one quilt, which we share. The child complains of cold at night," said Mamta Kumari, Noni's mother.
"It's sad we can't keep our kids warm," says Noni's father lamenting on his desperation.
For Noni and many other children like him the only source of warmth is clinging to their mothers.
While government claims it has been successful in eradicating poverty to a great extent, such examples show what the real achievements are.
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