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News of Jan
4, 2007
Agra's Homeless Get Warmth
in Night Shelters
By
Brij Khandelwal
Agra, Jan
4
With a freezing winter chill, it is a tough existence for the
homeless in Agra. But a string of night shelters in the city of the
Taj is giving them some comfort at night.
With the night temperatures beginning to dip below a bone-numbing 5
degree Celsius, the shelters provide quilts and blankets donated by
voluntary agencies.
Agra has not seen a single death due to exposure to cold in the past
few years ever since the Sri Nathji Nishulk Jal Sewa charity opened
a dozen night shelters in various parts of the city.
This year too, Agra appears better prepared with more than a dozen
groups ready to provide succor to the impoverished.
Srinathji Nishulk Jal Sewa has become a role model for other groups.
The Lions and Rotary clubs and half a dozen other bodies, supported
by women's groups like Kalyankari Mahila Samiti and Nav Surabhi as
well as Uttar Pradesh's ruling Samajwadi Party, have come forward to
support the night shelters.
These 'raen baseras' (night shelters) have been put up at the
S.N. Medical College, the Mental Hospital and outside railway
stations.
The Agra Municipal Corporation has been dragging its feet over
providing night shelters, citing resource crunch.
The Srinathji Raen Baseras are equipped with new quilts, bed sheets
and cushions for a comfortable night's stay - free of cost. A
bonfire is lit in the evenings to keep people warm. Occasionally 'chana'
and 'gur' or roasted gram and jaggery are served with tea.
On an average night, between 60-80 people squeeze into each shelter,
said Bankey Lal Maheswari, who runs the voluntary network of night
shelters.
"Earlier we used to distribute blankets to the needy but we found
that many of the beneficiaries were selling them in the market,"
Maheshwari told IANS. "We open the night shelters for three months.
"Each shelter caters to at least 50 people. Those near the mental
hospital and the S.N. Medical College can accommodate up to 100
guests," he added.
The 25-year old Srinathji Nishulk Jal Sewa is a unique voluntary
outfit, funded by small donors. The organization also runs a network
of water huts in Agra where people can get clean, cool water to
drink.
"Ours is not a registered body. We have no constitution, no formal
structure. We run a network of 12 night shelters and over 70 water
huts in summer," Maheshwari said. "We spend around Rs.1 million
every year on running these services."
Rajan Kishore, a close associate of Maheshwari, said: "Many donors
send cheques, money orders and cash."
The cost of cow dung cakes and firewood has gone up steeply this
winter, but efforts are on to ensure that bonfires continue to be
lit at least till Jan 26, Republic Day.
IANS
News of Jan
4, 2007
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