VIJAYAWADA: A State-level monitoring committee meeting was held at Interim Government Complex in Velagapudi on Wednesday to discuss the steps being taken by the Municipal Administration and Urban Development department for the maintenance of shelters for homeless destitute in urban areas.
During the meeting, the committee chairman and retired IAS officer JC Sarma asked the Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas (MEPMA) officials to provide the number of shelters being maintained by the mission across the State and reviewed the facilities being offered.
The MEPMA additional director informed Sarma that a total of 81 shelters are being maintained in the State. He said two more suitable locations were identified near Krishnaveni Ghat in Vijayawada for establishing new shelters homes. MEPMA director GS Naveen Kumar has suggested the officials to involve the representatives from APSRTC, traffic and police department to chalk out an action plan for better maintenance of the shelter homes.
Apart from that, Sarma also asked the officials to arrange temporary shelters for the destitute staying on the footpaths near bus stations and railway stations in the urban areas at the earliest. Recently, a shelter home in Chittoor district was identified as a model for the State. The shelter maintainer Joseph gave a detailed presentation on the medical camps and other facilities provided to the destitute.
Committee member Irfan Basha, MA & UD secretary J Syamala Rao, VMC commissioner V Prasanna Venkatesh, project officer N Sridhar were present.