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Sabrang Team
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From: "pushkar raj" <[email protected]>
Subject: An Open Letter to Chief Minister of Delhi on Shelter-less
in the Capital
An Open Letter to Chief Minister of
Delhi on Shelter-less in the Capital
Dear Mrs. Dikshit
Dehlites are happy that you are back in power. You won elections
despite incumbency. You seemed and emerged as a sober and suave
leader who was sensitive to the woes of common man as compared to
your competitors. Congratulations for a deserved victory.
You promised something for everyone. I have no reasons to doubt your
seriousness in this regard.
I do not know what you promised for the Delhi’s shelter-less and
homeless. In the biting cruel cold of January as they languish on
pavements I recollect your persona on television last year on one of
the satellite channels. You were face to face with one of your
citizens. Live, in tatters, shivering under the foggy sky on
pavement road leading to new Delhi railway station (stone’s throw
from your Gole Market constituency) an old man wept inconsolably as
the TV correspondent asked him about the plans and prospect for the
dark cold night ahead. The weeping old man was cold, shelter-less,
abandoned and to our shame hopeless. As tears rolled down his
cheeks, we all squirmed guiltily to the core. You included.
And you promised.
You promised that some arrangements would immediately be made for
people like him to survive. And they would not be let to die. But
still in the last winter 3040 died in the capital. Sad.
Sad that 3040 people in the capital would have wept like the man on
camera and later fell dead.
But more sad is the fact that a budget of 2.60 crores allocated for
the homeless for the new night shelters (raian baseras) has remained
sinfully unused for the purpose. Out of proposed nine night shelters
in each zone of the city not even a single came up during the
preceding year. Money remains intact in coffers. People exposed in
open!
Furthermore out of 37 night shelters that your party controlled
corporation runs, 26 are situated in old Delhi only. It seems that
there are no poor and homeless in rest of Delhi. East Delhi, the
dwelling of capital’s underbelly and approximately one third of
population has only one night shelter!
I agree that you have many more things to be concerned of. You would
agree with me that these homeless, meager daily wage earners, street
children, beggars, people living with leprosy, Aids, mental illness
cannot make use of right of information act and haul the air
conditioned accustomed officials in a court of law. I agree they do
not play an important role in deciding the winner in election (they
do not figure in voting list).
But let me submit:
When you feel a little cold as you come out to inaugurate a scheme
in open for welfare of downtrodden, think of these shivering
children, women and old men who are cold and weeping. I submit that
you ensure that what is promised and proposed for our not so
fortunate brethren are honorably and honestly executed. I further
submit that for just two months of winter please throw open gates of
a few out of 1800 primary and 650 secondary schools that the capital
city has. What would that amount to? Certainly much much less when
compared with an old man weeping in middle of night or thousands
dead like an uncared sparrow without a trace.
Yours sincerely
PUSHKAR RAJ
General Secretary
PUCL- DELHI |