Chhindwara:
As the misery of the cold wave continues to grip northern India, it's the homeless who are bearing the maximum brunt. One of them is Dhaniram, who lives in an under-construction building in the Chhindwara district in Madhya Pradesh with his seven-year-old son Maruti. 50-year-old Dhaniram, who used to own a tea stall two years ago, has been forced to seek refuge in the building after his home was demolished in an anti-encroachment drive.
The father-son duo is among hundreds of homeless who are forced to brave the bitter cold for lack of shelters. But they may soon find comfort in two of the government shelters, one of which has so far been occupied by the district's public relations office. But following a NDTV expose on how the shelter was being misused, the administration has swung into action. The shelter is being vacated. In fact, authorities are now conducting an awareness drive for the homeless to apprise them of the shelters.
"We will form a team from the municipal corporation who will create awareness among homeless and travellers about the shelters," Pawan Sharma, District Magistrate of Chhindwara said.
NDTV accompanied the police on the first awareness drive where 20 people were brought to the shelter.
The government has also embarked upon a plan to construct more night shelters to ensure the prevention of more deaths in the district due to the harsh cold.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court, which has slammed the state governments for their inaction over providing shelters to the homeless, will take up the issue today. The court had last month asked state governments to ensure that not a single person dies due to the cold. "The whole endeavour should be to preserve and protect human life...without loss of time. Permanent structures will take time...and winter is intense....But relief....has to be provided," the court had said.