Misleading ad glorifies shelter homes

 NGOs working for the homeless, term city government’s advertisement highlighting facilities at the shelter homes in capital as “misleading”.

No air coolers and empty first aid boxes reflects the sorry state of affairs at the shelter homes spread across the city. But the advertisement says that Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) runs 184 shelters equipped with facilities like mobile health team visit, air coolers and drinking water.

“There is no air cooler in our shelter homes. There are no air coolers in any of the porta cabin night shelter,” said Santosh Sharma, director of NGO, Nari Uthan Samiti that runs a shelter home at Geeta Colony.

After seeing the advertisement, people at some shelter homes started raising the demand of air coolers.

“A few occupants have asked me that why don’t I give them air coolers. The advertisement is incorrect and misleading,” said Usha Nischal, director of an NGO, Mahilayen Pragati Ki Aur which run six Rain Baseras in Janakpuri, Vikaspuri, Uttam Nagar and Tilak Nagar.

NGOs added that doctors seldom visit these shelter homes. “A doctor comes after a month or so and when he comes, he just sees five to six people and leaves,” Nishcal told Deccan Herald at Tilak Nagar shelter which houses around 200 destitutes.

“When we ask the doctors to stay back they say they have to go to other places too. All the first aid kits are empty at my shelter home, so I have to buy medicines from chemists myself,” she added.

But DUSIB Director Kamal Malhotra said that there is provision of air cooler in all the shelter homes. “There are adequate facilties of drinking water, air coolers and health check ups,” added Malhotra.

The non-profit-organisations said that pictures used in the advertisement are too old. “The picture of a rain basera shown in the advertisement makes the shelter home looks neat and clean. But if one goes to the place now, it is in dilapidated condition,” Nischal said.