CUTTACK: With mercury slipping below 10 degree Celsius in the city, the plight of the homeless people has become excruciating. The people are left with no option but to spend chilly winter nights on roadsides, in front of closed shops and market yards as several Shelters for Urban Homeless (SUHs) set up by the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) remain out of bounds for them.
Sleeping under the open sky has become a common sight at several locations, including Ranihat Canal bridge, Station Bazar, CDA market and OMP Square. Many homeless people have also taken shelter in front of shops and market yards at Badambadi, Dolamundai, Haripur Road, Tinikonia Bazar, Buxi Bazar, Mani Sahu chowk, Stadium Road and Sikharpur battling biting cold.
Most of these homeless people hail from different parts of the state and earn their livelihood as coolies or labourers, rickshaw and trolley pullers, or ragpickers at railway station, bus stands and other commercial establishments.
According to reports, the CMC constructed six SUHs at Badambadi, Sishu Bhawan, Sati Chaura, Deula Sahi, Mangalabag and Jagatpur between 2009 and 2019. However, the Badambadi night shelter was demolished in 2021 to make way for the construction of the Cuttack Netaji Bus Terminal (CNBT) at Khannagar, while the Deula Sahi shelter was closed in 2023 due to lack of occupancy.
At present, the civic body operates only four night shelters with a total capacity of 202 beds, 58 beds at Sishu Bhawan, 48 at Sati Chaura, 46 at Mangalabag and 50 at Jagatpur. While the SUHs at Sishu Bhawan and Mangalabag often remain fully occupied, the shelters at Sati Chaura and Jagatpur remain largely unoccupied most of the time due to their inaccessibility.
Recently, a social organisation, Ambedkar Smruti Parishad, submitted a memorandum to the CMC authorities demanding the construction of SUHs at suitable locations.
CMC assistant commissioner Swati Mishra said that construction of a new SUH at Badambadi has already been completed and plumbing work is currently underway. “We are planning to carry out a drive to counsel and motivate homeless people to take shelter in nearby SUHs,” Mishra said.