With winter setting in, the government’s announcement on shelters for the homeless is awaited in the Capital where temperatures dip to below 5-degree Celsius every year.
Last December, while hearing a petition on providing night shelters across the country, the Supreme Court asked the States to ensure that not a single person lost their life due to the cold.
There are an estimated 187,810 families in urban and 259,775 families in rural areas that are homeless, as per census data.
In Delhi alone there are 9,809 in the urban and 235 families in rural areas that are estimated to be homeless.
The Apex Court asked the Delhi government to set up 100 temporary shelters in the city.
There are 65 shelters currently, but there is need for twice as many, say people working with the homeless.
