A makeshift tent with plastic covering it from both sides and stairs of a footbridge acting as a roof is the only refuge for 60-year-old Uma Devi and her two daughters.
While walking towards gates no. 4 and 5 of AIIMS hospital during the night, she was seen sitting outside the tent in a wheelchair with the lower part of her body paralysed for years now. Two of her daughters, one in her early 20s and the other just 10, were sleeping inside.
However, just 10-20 steps ahead of her ‘humble abode’ was a series of 3-4 white tents set up by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) to house the homeless people of the city during the chilly winter nights. These temporary tent-like arrangements that have been set up by the Delhi government for the winter months were spread across both sides of the road near the hospital.
On being asked as to why she does not stay in these shelters, Uma Devi said, “Most people staying in these tents are suffering from one or the other disease and have come to consult doctors at AIIMS.” She further added, “Once while I was staying there, one of them started throwing up just in front of my food plate. Somehow that visual stayed with me, and I don’t feel like going back there.”
Different world
Few DUSIB tents remain overoccupied with teens to senior citizens curling up in blankets after the whole day’s exhaustion.
At the RCC night shelter in Priyadarshini Colony, Yamuna Bazaar, where official data states that the capacity is 60, ground realities tell a different story. As more people—especially women—arrive seeking refuge, the shelter exceeds capacity. With beds running out, many are left to spread their blankets on the floor.
A caretaker at the shelter acknowledged the overcrowding and said,
“At night, nearly 90-100 people, including men and women, stay here. Since the number of people staying exceeds availability, people sleep on the floors.”
Omprakash, a resident of a remote village in Uttar Pradesh who has come to Delhi to treat a tumour on his neck, said that these temporary shelters were well cleaned, but the quality of food served was poor. “The dal and roti served to us is often not worthy of being consumed, but since we have no option, we eat whatever we get,” he added.
As per the rules, the NGOs managing these shelter homes are supposed to provide nutritious meals thrice a day to the occupants. A caretaker at one of the shelters said that food is timely delivered, but the quality remains largely questionable.
A caretaker at one of these permanent shelters housed at Priyadarshini Colony, Yamuna Bazaar, Praveen said, “Most of the people who stay here are daily wage workers, or they run small shops earning their own bread, but the food provided to them is not as per basic standards. Very few people can actually eat it.”
The second floor of the permanent shelter at Yamuna Bazaar is reserved for women, where around 30 women live with their children—the number keeps exceeding on certain nights.
40-year-old Ruby from West Bengal, who has been staying at the shelter for the past two to three years with her eight-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter, said, “I have requested the NGO many times to help me find work, but nothing has moved on that front.” She survives by begging on the streets.
“I have not been able to send my children to school yet. Since I moved to Delhi from Bengal a few years back, the kids do not have any valid proof of identity like Aadhaar card. Despite requesting the officials, I have not been able to get any help to get them an Aadhar card.”
However, speaking to this newspaper, a DUSIB official said that the Delhi government’s social welfare department is working in the sector of skilling and welfare for the homeless people.
A place called home
Just outside the metro exit of Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station, rows of white tents bearing boards that read ‘DUSIB Night Shelters’ line the road. A little down the lane stand six porta cabins—permanent shelters for the homeless that remain occupied throughout the year. Showing the area, caretakers explained that four of the cabins house families, one is reserved for men, and another functions as a ‘recovery shelter’ for those undergoing medical treatment.
Many families staying in the cabin say that they have been staying there for 10-12 years. “This is our home now. Sometimes we go back to our village, but eventually we come back here,” said Pari, who has been staying in one of these porta cabins at Sarai Kale Khan with her husband and four children.
While Pari shares about her day as a ragpicker, her sister Rumpa said, “My husband works in one of the nearby restaurants, but I also want to contribute to the family’s finances. She added, “I want to learn sewing and stitching, but no such training is available here anymore. Such a training session happened 3-4 years ago but not anymore.”
The shelters were not visibly unhygienic, but overcrowding was evident. Staff said the four family porta cabins have a combined capacity of 230, while nearly 360 people currently live there. “If a cabin has beds for 40 people, you will find 80 to 90 staying inside,” a caretaker said.
At the same time, he pointed out that several of the newly erected winter tents nearby remain underutilised. “These tents can accommodate around 90 people, but nearly half the beds are still vacant,” he said, adding that families from the overcrowded cabins have been asked to shift there for the winter months.
Families, however, said moving along with children and their belongings for a temporary arrangement of a few months is difficult and disruptive, prompting many to stay put despite the congestion.
On the other hand, the recovery shelter is occupied as per the capacity. 55-year-old Praveen said that he has been living here for 14 years, since the time he started having problems with his vision. He recently got cataract surgery done, the expenses of which were borne entirely by the NGO that runs that shelter. He said, “I have no family, and these brothers (pointing to the caretakers) are my family now. Most of my medicines are sponsored by the NGO.”
Contrasting images
A mobile application called Rain Basera is meant to help locate night shelters across the city. While the download link is available on DUSIB’s website, this newspaper found several functional glitches while checking the app. Responding to the issue, a DUSIB official said the app “usually works fine” and noted that since it is activated only during the winter months, occasional glitches are possible. He added that the app is primarily used by NGOs managing the shelters during rescue operations to locate nearby facilities.
“During these rescue operations, they spot people sleeping on the streets and get them to the nearby shelters located through the app,” the official added.
The shelters at Yamuna Bazaar, AIIMS Gate no. 4 and Sarai Kale Khan had proper arrangements for fire extinguishers, with the caretakers working for the shelter management agencies (SMAs) claiming to be trained to handle fire incidents.
In the case of these night shelters, fire safety has been a huge concern, especially after a blaze claimed the lives of two people in a Vasant Vihar shelter. Following that incident, fire safety measures were tightened, and Delhi urban development minister Ashish Sood directed forensic and physical audits of all night shelters in the city.
Talking about the same, Nitish Kumar, project coordinator for southeast Delhi at one of these SMAs, Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses (SPYM), said, “We conduct fire safety training sessions for our staff at frequent intervals.”
Addressing concerns over documentation, Kumar said there is no mandate requiring people to produce ID proof to access night shelters. “Most people living on the streets do not have valid documents. Some have lost them, while others left them behind in their villages,” he said.
“If entry is restricted due to lack of ID proof, a large number of people would be left out in the cold during winter months.”
Managing night shelters since 2010, SPYM currently operates around 75 shelters across the city. On handling overcrowding, a representative of the organisation said that people are shifted to nearby shelters when numbers exceed capacity. “We have winter rescue teams that operate on different routes from 10 am to 4 pm. They coordinate with the control room to move people to other shelters,” he said.
Despite such claims, one of the shelters managed by the same agency gave a different picture, as few of the cabins there had more than double the capacity of people staying for long periods.
The total number of shelter home facilities available in the national capital stands at 330, with a capacity of housing about 19,884 people, the latest data from DUSIB’s official website stated. However, a headcount survey conducted in 2024 by Urban Rights Forum for the Homeless – an organisation advocating for human rights and housing for urban homeless people – estimated that the total number of people found in the streets of Delhi was nearly 3 lakh. Thereby, the gap still visibly remains wide, raising questions on how so many survive on the streets of Delhi during the winter months.