Shelters for homeless should be friendly to differently abled and to the aged and special shelters for women, differently abled and those suffering from chronic diseases should be built, former Union Energy Secretary E.A.S. Sarma has said.
He was participating in the World Homeless Day at Convent Junction at Gnanapuram on Monday night.
In spite of repeated letters to the government, political interference in running the shelters at Tenali, Kurnool, Srikakulam and the city continued creating trouble to the NGOs running them, he said.
Mr. Sarma recalled the initiative taken by the then Municipal Commissioner M.V. Satyanarayana for launching night shelters.
Secretary of Association for Urban & Tribal Development (AUTD) Pragada Srinivasu explained the objective of the program.
While 200 persons were accommodated in six shelters in Visakhapatnam, the rest were still left on footpaths and streets, Mr. Srinivasu said.
An estimated one per cent population, including streetchildren, migrant labourers and destitutes, were still living in the open and though State and Central governments were ready to give funds, municipalities and corporations were not sending proposals to MEPMA, the State-level agency, he said.
Magic show
A magic show was organised. Vizag Smiles distributed food to 100 homeless persons.Rambabu and Kumara Swami from Urban Community Development (UCD) wing of GVMC, advocate and child rights activist Rakeeb, volunteers from Vizag Smiles, Rammohan Rao from Akshaya Patra Foundation, Homeless collectives and the 200 taking shelter in the six shelters in the city participated.
At Butchirajupalem
Visakha Integral Social Organisations (VISA) observed the day at Butchirajupalem at the GVMC night shelter run by it.
Awareness programme
Awareness programme was conducted and food distributed.
K.Mani of Satya Sai Seva Samstha and V.Ramamohan of VISA participated.
