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Homeless caught between harsh winter and unsafe footpaths

Dec 24, 2024 05:14 AM IST

Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Rohit Pawar said, “If you are poor, you don’t have a roof over your head and the earth is a bed and the sky is the sky

As the city grapples with a biting winter, several homeless struggle to find a warm place to stay especially at night and end up on footpaths. The tragedy in Wagholi on Monday morning where a dumper truck swerved off the road onto a footpath killing three individuals, including two toddlers, highlights the risky conditions of those living on footpaths.

The chilly winter has seen an increase in people seeking refuge in shelters. (MAHENDRA KOLHE/ HT)
The chilly winter has seen an increase in people seeking refuge in shelters. (MAHENDRA KOLHE/ HT)

Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Rohit Pawar said, “If you are poor, you don’t have a roof over your head and the earth is a bed and the sky is the sky. Even if you are crushed to death like ants, it means nothing to anyone. Three of them, including two children, died while six others are still battling for their lives in the dumper truck accident. Don’t the poor have a right to live?”

Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) runs only five night shelters across the city, with population of 44 lakh, in areas like Shivajinagar, Bopodi, Yerawada, and Pune Railway Station for the homeless and needy even as the Supreme Court directive states one shelter per one lakh population.

Meanwhile, the chilly winter has seen an increase in people seeking refuge in shelters.

Yogesh Sonawane, project manager at PMC’s night shelter near Pune Railway Station said, “As we have 22 and 28 beds for women and men respectively and all are occupied, we have to refer people to other shelters. We often go out looking for people living on footpaths and try to get them shelter facility. While we don’t allow people under the influence of banned substances, others refuse to leave the footpaths for various reasons.”

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