Karnal, November 25: Night shelters set up by the Municipal Corporation in various areas of the city are providing shelter to homeless people and protecting them from the cold. These shelters include one permanent and five temporary shelters, where the homeless spend the night. The shelters are equipped with amenities such as warm blankets, mattresses, heaters, drinking water, toilets, and electricity. A watchman has been deployed to ensure all night shelters are in good condition. A sanitation worker has also been assigned to maintain their cleanliness.
Municipal Corporation Commissioner Uttam Singh stated that some people spend the night here and there in the city, meaning they don't own a home, but spending the night outdoors during the winter is difficult. To address this, the Municipal Corporation has arranged for night shelters. One of these is a permanent night shelter in Prem Nagar, which can accommodate approximately 80 people.
Five temporary night shelters have also been provided at various locations, four small and one large. The larger temporary night shelter, with a capacity of twenty people, is located near the North Haryana Power Distribution Corporation in Sector 12. Smaller night shelters are located near Kalpana Chawla Government Medical College, the railway station, the taxi stand behind the old bus stand, and at Meerut Road Chowk, each with a capacity to accommodate 10 to 12 people. He explained that the temporary night shelters are open from 6 pm to 6 am, while the permanent night shelter in Prem Nagar is open throughout the day.
He explained that a team from the Urban Mission Management Unit, led by Deputy Municipal Commissioner Abhay Singh, has been formed to ensure that homeless people do not sleep in the open or under flyovers. This team drives around the city at night.
During this time, if a homeless person is seen anywhere near the bus stand, railway station, flyover, or market, they are asked to spend the night in a night shelter. If someone is unable to go, they are dropped off at the nearest night shelter. Registers are maintained at each location for those who spend the night there.
The Municipal Commissioner has appealed to both the homeless and the citizens of the city that if they see anyone wandering around without shelter during the winter, they should, as a charitable act, encourage them to go to a night shelter. He said that those who go to places like bus stands, railway stations, or flyovers to donate blankets and mattresses to help the homeless can instead come to the night shelters and donate blankets and mattresses, so that no one sleeps in the open.