TIRUCHY: The city corporation’s allocation of `3 crores towards the construction of three shelters in its recent budget, while receiving appreciation, has yet to win over the city’s several homeless people. The requirement to submit identity cards to access the shelters is what seems to have put them off.
“I left my home about nine years ago after my family began to say I had mental health issues because they had plans to put me in an asylum, where I would spend my last days. If I say this, they would be worried about letting me in.
Do you expect such a person to carry identity cards? There are many people like me and the corporation has to consider it,” said Neelakandan (72), a native of Thanjavur in Tiruchy. Indumathi A (80), another homeless citizen from Pudukkottai, said, “After I left my family, I kept travelling from district to district and lost my identity card about three years ago.
Because I live on the streets and am likely to lose it again, I didn’t bother to get a new identity card. Therefore, if the corporation is planning to construct more shelters with the intention of helping homeless seniors, it must not make identity cards mandatory.”
Meanwhile, senior officials said that such a restriction was imposed to ensure safety. “We have to continue ongoing regulations to ensure safety. However, we’ll explore options to sort out the issue,” a senior official said. Sources said that lifting regulations would also compel the corporation to construct more homes.
“The existing shelters can accommodate a total of 150 people and the new ones would increase this to 300. Therefore, if the corporation lifts the regulations, it may have to construct more centres to accommodate more people. It is unclear whether the top brass would take such a call,” a source said.