Census shows 68k disabled people are homeless

 Over 68,400 disabled people in India do not have a roof over their head while majority of them are found in urban areas, latest Census figures reveal.

The figure might be a fraction of the 2.68 crore disabled persons in the country, but activists say it could still be alarming as a sizable chunk of women and children among the homeless are left exposed to abuse. Disabled women alone account for 24,211 among the homeless.

They also warn that the figures could yet be incomplete since many may have been missed out during the Census survey. Activists would like to see the actions authorities would take, having identified the homeless persons.

The official figures released on Tuesday also showed 43,509 or 68 per cent homeless disabled persons lived in urban areas, 13, 637 of them being women.

Many disabled homeless persons in urban areas live on pavements, large pipes and below bridges, often falling through social schemes and institutional help.

UP tops chart

Figures revealed Uttar Pradesh tops the chart for the homeless disabled with 12,876 persons, 4,452 of whom are women. Maharashtra (9,103), Andhra Pradesh (7,407) and West Bengal (6,503) also featured in the list.

Karnataka has 2,486 homeless disabled out of which 935 are women, while the national capital Delhi has 1,595 out of 2.34 lakh disabled population in the list of homeless.