JOIN USThose living on the streets are five times more vulnerable to death than those with a roof over their head, and summer accounts for more homeless deaths than winter, says social worker and writer Harsh Mander.
Edited excerpts from a conversation with Pratik Kumar:
Could the heat wave have led to a spike in death of the homeless poor?
Some years back we conducted a detailed study on homeless deaths on the streets of Delhi. But there is no study that can capture a very realistic data.
The government studies do not take into account deaths of those destitute, homeless men who are buried or cremated with the money raised by other homeless people who are part of their community.
In fact, it is the unclaimed bodies that make it to the government records. These are the people who neither have a family, nor are part of a community.
People will be surprised to know that winter is not the peak season for homeless deaths in the city. It is the summers, followed by the monsoon, that claim more lives.
Can you put a figure on how much more vulnerable homeless people are to extreme temperatures?
Our study concluded that those living on the streets have five times more chances of dying than those who have roofs over their heads.
Contrary to the belief, those dying on the streets fall under the working age group. So they are not old, but young people in their working age.
But why do the homeless avoid shelter homes?
There is a huge misunderstanding that homeless deaths can be prevented just by having shelters.
What homeless people need is a decent, clean, hygienic and respectful place. The place which also has the basic amenities.
The shelters here are poorly located. Therefore, it is a combination of poor services, disrespect and unclean space that keep the homeless out of the shelters.
One has to understand that shelters shouldn’t be just a space for stocking bodies.
So does it mean that shelter homes are shunned by the homeless because they are poorly serviced?
No, there are other factors too. For most, the idea of shelter is a ‘night shelter’. But those who work as daily wage workers need shelters mostly in the day. The tin sheds get overheated during summers.
Therefore, there is a need to build architecturally sound shelters. Emotionally, we still feel that winters are harsher than summers. That is why we set up additional tents in winter months.
We don’t have adequate and proper shelter homes? Is there a shortage of resources?
There is no shortage of resources. But the point that is generally given is that there is no specific fund or at least a proper government scheme. The grants are released with great difficulty.
As a result, salaries and maintenance charges are not paid on time. It is a story of neglect. We don’t regard the homeless as humans.
The Delhi government outsources the work to large agencies to put up a cluster of 25-30 tents.
The government through open bidding process is inviting applications from Shelter Management Agencies (SMAs) which don’t seem to have the capacity to operate at such a scale.
Do you think by giving charge to SMAs, Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board has washed its hands of its responsibility?
Nobody really cares for the homeless. Most of the work is outsourced. There is no real hand-holding or support from the government.
It should be a primary responsibility of the state to ensure shelters for the homeless.