Delhi CM urged to provide food and shelter to homeless

NEW DELHI:  The Delhi Rozi Roti Adhikar Abhiyan (DRRAA) has urged Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to provide free cooked meals through shelters for the homeless population and universalise the public distribution system by providing ration to all independent of ration cards. This comes amidst rising Covid-19 cases and the government enforcing restrictions on activities. 

The government should should take steps to prevent food insecurity and hunger among the poor and marginalised population in the national capital. “Volunteers of DRRAA have been speaking to people in low income settlements in Delhi including bastis and have been visiting bus terminals and train stations to document the impact of these restrictions on livelihoods.

In the industrial zone of Bawana and Narela, there is intense distress among daily labourers working in factories as they have been told by the employers that no wages will be provided in case of any lockdown/stoppage of work,” said the letter.

Meanwhile, an advocacy group, Housing and Land Rights Network has come up with a slew of recommendations to protect the vulnerable homeless population in the summer season. There is an urgent need to recognise heat waves as a major health risk and formulate strategies for the protection of homeless persons during the summer months, it pointed out, adding, there is an urgent need to undertake a rapid assessment survey too.