Plummeting mercury and associated health woes claimed their first victim in Central Delhi earlier this week. The area has the largest number of homeless in the city. Forty two-year-old Rajesh, a homeless man, was found dead on Monday morning at Qudisia Ghat, Yamuna Pushta.
Non-government organisations claim that the city recorded 163 homeless deaths this month till November 24. This could be attributed to the prevailing winter conditions, lack of food, shelter and adequate clothing, and associated health problems and addiction.
“On Monday morning, we found the body of a homeless man identified as Rajesh. It looked like he had died on Sunday night. The body was found covered in only a bed sheet when Delhi’s night temperature was less than ten degrees Celsius,” said Dr. Indu Prakash Singh, national convenor,National Forum for Housing Rights.
The man, who occasionally worked as a waiter, was found dead by other homeless persons in the area. Dr. Singh said that people living on the streets have a very low immunity and are plagued by ill health.
A government official, however, maintained that it was too early to call it a winter death, and a post-mortem would determine the exact cause of death.
Explaining that annually Delhi records nearly 3,500 deaths on the streets, Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board Director (night shelter) Kamal Malhotra noted: “There is no system to ascertain how many among them are homeless. Often deaths on the streets include accident victims, unidentified persons etc. Several times in case of the homeless, a post-mortem is not conducted because of the condition of the body. So to arrive at an exact number and cause of death among the homeless is virtually impossible.”
Stating that NGOs conduct a physical verification of deaths among the homeless in Delhi during their ‘night vigil and morning walks’, Sunil Kumar Aledia of the Centre for Holistic Development said: “While we inform the local police about the deaths, we also do a physical verification. The homeless are identified and we try to ascertain the cause of death. We also maintain a record of the same.”
He added that the body of a homeless person is normally taken to the mortuary where it is kept for 72 hours for identification. “The mandatory post-mortem is many times not needed unless there are external injuries on the body,” he explained.
He added that such deaths are considered natural deaths by the police and hence post-mortem is waived off.
Pointing out that deaths due to extreme heat or cold cannot be termed natural, Dr. Singh added: “These are deaths due to neglect by government authorities and agencies working for the homeless.”
Nodal officer for the homeless in Delhi, DCP Rajnish Garg, added that while the police maintain a record of deaths on the roads (accident victims and unidentified person etc.) there is no exclusive record of homeless deaths.
Meanwhile, Dr. Singh added that the shelter home at Yamuna Pushta which can only accommodate 17 persons as per government norms is full. “Currently we have over 100 persons sleeping there. In some shelters it is over 70. The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board has also mandatorily made one shelter for women, but it has nil occupancy. This, while several men sleep outside the shelters,” noted Dr. Singh.
