A large number of shelterless persons living in temporary accommodations on streets in the city are not ready to move to relief camps as many of them feel safe from the threat of COVID-19 at their present location, the State government told the High Court of Karnataka.
There are only 411 shelterless persons, identified from April 10 to 18, housed in 10 relief camps set up in government hostels in the city as the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) did not move other shelterless people against their will though the civic body had identified a large number of such persons on the streets, the government said.
The government submitted a report in this regard as the court on April 16 directed the government to examine the BBMP’s action on finding that the civic body had no plan or policy to identify vulnerable and homeless persons and provide them food even after 22 days of lockdown.
Though the BBMP had no written policy in this regard, the government said the civic body had issued standing instructions across all zones and wards to ensure that cooked and ready-to-eat food is distributed to the needy and deserving, without limitation as to whether they were migrants or not, so long as they were vulnerable.
“This instruction, though not in writing, has been implemented quite significantly right from the inception of the lockdown, in coordination with various NGOs,” the government’s report said.
A special Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice B.V. Nagarathna, while orally asking the government and the BBMP to find out whether city police have any data of migrants in the city, said the Bench will examine the government’s report on April 24.
Construction labourers
The government said there are 67,963 construction workers in 414 construction sites and these labourers are either living in their rented accommodation or on construction site, and the construction companies are providing food to them, and the BBMP is also providing food to labourers wherever necessary.
The BBMP, the report stated, has conducted health check-up for 2,935 migrant labourers, including 104 pregnant and 94 lactating mothers, at various construction sites.
The report also said the BBMP has identified 1.34 lakh migrant/ construction workers for distribution of food kits, and distributed kits, in co-ordination with Akshaya Patra, to them at a cost of around ₹12.35 crore up to April 19.
Also, the BBMP has distributed 45.52 lakh litre of milk at cost of ₹16.79 crore to the needy between April 3 and 19; and provided 8,27,159 meals at Rs.10.66 per meal at Indira Canteens between April 8 and 19, the government's report stated.
