Nashik civic body to build 9 shelters for homeless

NASHIK: The Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC), in order to provide shelter to the homeless, has decided to build nine shelter homes at four locations in the city.
Each shelter home will have a capacity to accommodate 100 people. The civic administration has already identified four locations to build the shelters — Panchavati, Satpur, Wadala and Chehedi.
The total cost of the project is estimated at Rs 22.73 crore, including Rs 2.73 crore for electricity-related work. Mayor Satish Kulkarni said an approval has been given to the proposal and the civic body will send a Detailed Project Report (DPR) to the state government for its approval.
Additional municipal commissioner Praveen Ashtikar said the shelter home are being constructed under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihood Mission (DAY-NULM) and it will be funded by the state government.
“We will soon send a DPR to the state government and start work on the project after getting its nod. The nine shelter homes will altogether provide shelter to 900 people,” Ashtikar said.
After the directive of the Supreme Court, the state government had appointed agencies to carry out surveys of the homeless in the state. Accordingly, a survey was conducted recently in Nashik city by a private agency.
During the survey, the agency found 894 homeless people in the city. Accordingly, a target has been set to provide shelters to over 900 people by constructing new shelter homes.
Currently, night shelter for the homeless is being provided at Gadge Maharaj dharamshala in the city.