With monsoon setting in, hundreds of homeless people in the city are worried as there are too few shelters to accommodate all of them.
On the last count, the number of homeless individuals was pegged at over 5,100. This number does not include families who live under tarpaulin tents.
Last December, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), with assistance from Impact India, a non-governmental organisation, undertook a survey in all eight zones, starting from key pockets in the core city areas (coming under the West, East and South zones). In the three core zones alone, there were 3,991 homeless persons.
According to S.S. Rajani, who was part of the survey, a similar attempt to enumerate the homeless in the city had been made in 2010. “Then we found there were more than 18,000 homeless persons in Bengaluru,” she said. After the survey in December, the civic body had committed to setting up 40 shelters across the city. She said the organisations have been coordinating with the BBMP in this regard.
There are seven shelters currently operational in the city, including one recently opened in West zone. Sources in the BBMP said two more are likely to be opened within a week.
However, activists working for the welfare of the homeless in the city argue that this is grossly inadequate, given the number of enumerated homeless persons in Bengaluru.
Sources claimed that the BBMP, which had proposed to set up shelters on some of its properties, was facing resistance from councillors and local MLAs. “We received objections to the proposed shelter from elected representatives, who wanted to utilise the space for a gym or a park. We were forced to drop the proposal as a result,” a source said.
Spaces identified
BBMP Special Commissioner (Welfare) D. Randeep said the civic body had set a target of setting up 40 new shelters this year. He pointed out that eight new spaces have been identified and proposals forwarded to the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM). “Setting up shelters at these eight places will be a medium-term project. Once approved, we will set up the centres, which will help accommodate more homeless persons,” he said.
About the app that was to be developed to store data on homeless persons, Mr. Randeep said the proposal has been dropped. “We had initially proposed it to store data about the homeless. One of the features was facial recognition. However, it has been dropped for now,” the officer said.
Pre-fabricated shelters
The BBMP is also exploring the possibility of setting up shelters for the homeless using pre-fabricated structures. These structures, with a capacity to accommodate 20 two-tier beds, can be set up in an identified space within a week.
According to Mr. Randeep, a proposal to construct one such shelter on a pilot basis has been sent to the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) for approval. “These structures come with internal piping, geysers, toilets and lighting. Apart from being easy to assemble at the spot, the structures can also be disassembled and put up elsewhere. We have sought an estimate for them from the vendor who proposed this,” he said.
He also said once the NULM approves the proposal, and if the pilot is successful, the system would be extended across the city.
