CUTTACK: The homeless people in Cuttack city are forced to spend the winter nights under the open sky, thanks to the inadequate number of shelters to house them.
To add to the woes, the mosquito menace which has taken the entire city in its grip has made things even more difficult for these people.
Sources said the homeless, most of whom are labourers, rickshaw-pullers or ragpickers, can be sighted sleeping on footpaths in Ranihat Clock Tower area, Ranihat canal road, OMP square and Station Bazaar locality. Some of them can also be found taking shelter in front of shops or market yards at Badambadi, Dolamundai, Haripur Road, Dargha Bazar, Tinikonia Bazar, Buxi Bazar, Bajra Kabati road, Dolamundai, Mani Sahu Chhak and Stadium road among other localities.
The Cuttack Municipal Corporation had during the 2009-2019 period constructed around six shelters for urban homeless (SUHs) - at Badambadi, Sishu Bhawan, Sati Chaura, Deula Sahi, Mangalabag and Jagatpur - to provide permanent shelter to these people. However, the SUH at Badambadi was demolished in 2021 to make way for the Cuttack Netaji Bus Terminal (CNBT) at Khannagar while the night shelter at Deula Sahi was shut down a year back as it was lying unutilised.
The remaining four shelters have a total of around 202 beds with 58 at Sishu Bhawan, 48 at Sati Chaura, 46 in Mangalabag SUH and 50 beds in the one at Jagatpur. While the SUHs at Sishu Bhawan and Mangalabag are almost always fully occupied, the ones at Sati Chaura and Jagatpur are lying unoccupied as they are located faraway from the city. In such a situation, most of these poor and homeless people have no other option but to sleep in the open.
Slum improvement officer of CMC Swetapadma Satapathy said steps would be taken for construction of new night shelters in the city soon.