Odisha: Civic bodies asked to ready shelters for urban homeless in winter
The Odisha Government on Saturday asked all urban local bodies to ready action plan to ensure no homeless person under the open sky.
Published: 31st October 2021 10:16 AM | Last Updated: 31st October 2021 10:16 AM | A+A A-
For representational purposes (Photo | EPS)
BHUBANESWAR: The State Government on Saturday asked all urban local bodies (ULBs) to ready action plan to ensure no homeless person under the open sky.
State Urban Development Agency (SUDA) joint secretary Sarada Prasad Panda in a letter to the municipal commissioners of all corporations and executive officers of municipalities and NACs also asked to take up site-specific actions to rescue homeless persons and arrange temporary shelters for them.
Authorities of all the civic bodies have been asked to ensure all required facilities including proper bed, drinking water, toilet as well as sanitiser and hand wash facility in view of Covid-19. If required, the ULBs have also been asked to use any unused building or government building, with structural safety certification, as temporary shelter for the homeless.
Sources in the Housing and Urban Development department said that as per the survey the State has 13,651 homeless persons. Central zone comprising 10 districts including Khurda, Cuttack and Puri has the highest number of 7,911 homeless individuals.
The Sate currently has 43 Urban Shelters for Homeless (SUHs), while four more will be made functional soon in Phulbani, Chikiti, Angul and Sunabeda, said a senior official from the department.
