VIJAYAWADA: Assurance given by the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) officials to set up three night shelters in the city has remained unfulfilled for the last three years. Though the construction of two night shelters has been completed, for inexplicable reasons they are yet to be inaugurated by officials. According to sources, the city has close to 1,500 homeless people. Vijayawada with a population of 12 lakh people needs at least 10 night shelters to cater to the needs of the homeless poor, say activists.
Due to lack of night shelters, destitutes sleep on pavements, under flyovers and near the railway station. When contacted, Urban Community Development (UCD) officials said that the civic body is operating three night shelters with the support from Non-Governmental Organisations (ONGs) at Jandhyala Dakshina Murthy Municipal High School at Hanumanpet, Ranigarithota and at Tunnel Road near Chitti Nagar with a capacity to accommodate 250.
With the influx of homeless poor into the city after the bifurcation of the State and the government’s decision to build capital Amaravati close to Vijayawada, officials proposed to construct three additional night shelters in 2015. Subsequently, Rs 1.50 crore was allotted for the purpose in 2016-2017.Speaking to TNIE on Monday, VMC UCD project officer MVV Satyanarayana said that out of the three night shelters proposed in the city, construction of two, one near vehicle depot, Hanumanpet, and the other at Sitara junction, has been completed. The newly constructed night shelters can accommodate 100 persons each. They have kitchens, bathrooms, cupboards, and cots, he said.
When asked why about the delay, the project officer said that the civic body had set December 2016 as the deadline for their completion, but due to delay in civil works, the deadline had to be extended. It has become a herculean task for the VMC to identify a suitable location for constructing the third night shelter. The UCD officials conducted a survey recently and came up with a proposal to construct the night shelter near New Government Hospital rather than at the previously decided location, Patamata, he said.