TIRUCHY: With the city starting to experience rains, street dwellers are worried about their situation during the upcoming monsoon. Unlike previous years, the spread of the Coronavirus has increased their concerns.
"I used to sleep in railway premises during the rainy season. But, now, efforts to ensure better hygiene have kept us away from the station. I have to sleep either under flyovers or bus sheds when it rains," said Selvamani, a homeless person.
Some of the homeless people said rain would force more people to take refuge under flyovers or bus shelters . But with more people crammed into such small spaces during a pandemic, the possibility for infection to spread increases. "Earlier, we used to worry about losing our belongings when strangers would stay in our usual places. Now, we are worried about getting infected. But people like us do not have options," said Santhi, a homeless woman.
Though the Smart City initiative has come up with several projects to improve the aesthetics of the city, it has nothing to offer the homeless population.
At present, the Tiruchy Corporation has shelters at EB road, Bharathiyar road and Madurai road. But, together they can only accommodate a maximum of 150 people. Further, officials at the shelters demand identity proof from those staying there -- a document that most homeless people lack.
Even if the corporation relaxed its rules, some homeless people said they are not willing to stay in shelters or hospitals.
"Even if we get infected with the Coronavirus, who is bothered? We are not interested in going to hospitals or shelter homes. If they find we have the infection, they will hospitalise us. I am not comfortable with staying in a hospital," opined Marimuthu, a homeless person residing under a flyover.
Ignoring the homeless during the pandemic might create more problems for the civic body. When contacted, a senior official said the civic body was aware of the situation. "Even if we establish some camps, many of these people are not willing to stay there. Therefore, we are planning to conduct a special health camp for these people to ensure their safety," a senior corporation official said.