The Indian Express 09.01.2014
After buses, govt looks at turning ship containers into shelters
After opening up abandoned buses to shelter the homeless, Urban
Development Minister Manish Sisodia is now looking into a proposal to
use shipping containers as shelters.
According to Sisodia, the practicality of this plan is being
looked into so that proper ventilation and other such issues can be
worked on.
“Several transporters came to see me and said they were willing
to provide shipping containers that could be used as shelters. I am
looking into the viability of this plan to see how proper ventilation
and lighting can be provided in such containers. We are still working on
this,” Sisodia said on Wednesday. The transporters, apparently,
offered their containers as shelters to the government free of cost.
To provide respite from the cold, abandoned buses in the city
have been converted into shelters. Since Sunday, two such buses have
been placed near the AIIMS Metro station.
An NGO is running the ‘bus’ shelters. Delhi Urban Shelter
Improvement Board (DUSIB) official said the night shelters would also
provide blankets and mattresses.
Announcing the decision to “modify abandoned buses into night
shelters”, a post on the AAP’s Facebook page stated, “The AAP has always
believed in low-cost, innovative solutions and we will try our best to
solve citizens’ problems in a similar manner.”
Porta cabins have also been set up in schools under the Delhi government.
In a survey by sub-divisional magistrates in 11 districts, over
4,000 people were found without a roof, battling the cold in nearly 200
spots across the capital.
The SDMs submitted a report stating that 4,018 homeless people at
nearly 212 locations such as streets, below flyovers and Metro bridges,
bus stops and along railway lines.
