GHMC to set up more night shelters

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation is not forgetting those who live under these flyovers and on the sides of roads.

With the onset of winter round the corner, the GHMC has begun preparations to ensure that the poor and the homeless of Hyderabad have a roof over their heads to keep them away from the chill of the night and has issued directions to its Zonal offices to identify locations for setting up more temporary night shelters across the city.

“The aim is to see that no one has to fight the cold out on the streets. They can go to our shelters and stay there. We will have mattresses, blankets and drinking water in all our shelters,” a senior official said.

Currently, there are 15 night shelters in the city and GHMC operates these facilities in association with different NGOs and voluntary organisations. This apart, the municipal corporation distributes blankets for the poor and homeless in many areas to help them stay warm.

Depending on the location, each night shelter can accommodate 25 to 60 people. Though these night shelters can together accommodate about 560 people, at present there are only 395 people taking shelter in them. The numbers, however, will increase



drastically once the minimum temperature dips in the city.

To ensure proper coordination and facilities like mattresses, blankets, drinking water, toilets etc., instructions have been issued to the Zonal Offices to identify more locations for accommodating the needy, especially elderly persons. These temporary shelters will be operated till the end of January, GHMC Additional Commissioner Sikta Patnaik said.

These temporary night shelters can be set up in community halls, unoccupied model markets, buildings owned by trusts etc. Every year during winter, the GHMC launches a special drive to identify elderly and homeless people living on the roadsides in the city and to provide them shelter in warm spaces operated by the civic body.

The UCD wing of the GHMC takes up the drive in association with self-help groups, slum-level federations and other social organisations. Last year, the GHMC had identified 1,152 homeless persons in the city. 

Among the six zones, the officials identified 39 in LB Nagar zone, 137 in Charminar zone, 243 in Khairatabad zone, 195 in Serilingampally zone, 222 in Kukatpally zone and 316 in Secunderabad zone.