Shivering Delhi’s homeless struggling to survive

When midnight approaches in Delhi and a freezing fog settles over the Indian capital, thousands of homeless people spread torn mattresses and blankets on the streets to keep warm.

Those who can’t afford blankets spend the night around a smoldering fire, burning garbage and discarded cardboard boxes. Others hunker down in a government shelter system.

It’s a scene that repeats itself every year when India’s capital experiences a harsh winter, blamed for killing scores of homeless people and leaving tens of thousands of others shivering on the streets.

Recently, New Delhi recorded a low of 5.5 degrees Celsius (41.9 Fahrenheit), with India’s weather forecasting agency warning of a severe cold wave from Monday.

The piercing chill is an ordeal for the city’s homeless, who curl their bodies on sidewalks and sleep as the traffic goes by. Even though the city’s night shelters are a refuge to many who would otherwise find themselves sleeping near busy roundabouts and underpasses, most people there live in harsh conditions.

Many of the night shelters are overcrowded and have unclean toilets and no water.

India’s 2011 census figures show about 47,000 of the city’s residents were homeless.

Activists say that number is a vast underestimate and that New Delhi has more than 150,000 without permanent residences to sleep in.

Official figures also show the city’s 195 homeless shelters can accommodate only about 19,000 people, leaving tens of thousands struggling to keep warm.

Also Watch: January 5-9 was Delhi's worst cold wave spell in a decade: IMD