No shelter to turn to, homeless fall prey to pneumonia, malaria

MUMBAI: Lakhan died last Friday, a month short of his first birthday. The doctors at Nair Hospital registered the cause of death as pneumonia but there were many causes. He died because heavy rains pelted the city that week and his parents couldn’t keep him dry on the pavement outside The Willingdon Sports Club. He died because the BMC tore down his shanty and dumped garbage on the spot. And he died because before he caught pneumonia, his tiny frame was weakened from diarrhoea and vomiting caused by the unsanitary conditions.

After taking her daughters to see their dead brother— “even children need to say goodbye”—Lakhan’s mother, Anju, returned to the patch of pavement she calls home. While her husband carried their child to the crematorium, she searched for shelter from the rain. The situation was dire. Her three girls —ranging in age from 3-5—had begun displaying the same symptoms as their brother.

The 2011 census recorded 57,416 homeless people in Greater Mumbai–a figure disputed by NGOs, who claim the number is 2- 3 lakh. What is undisputable; however, is that there aren’t enough shelters to house them and during the rains, they crouch below shop awnings and huddle in railway stations, hoping they won’t be forced out. “About 60% come down with typhoid, malaria, jaundice, viral fever, skin infections and pneumonia,”says Brijesh Arya, convener of the Homeless Collective, “and about 10 people die every monsoon.”

According to a 2010 SC order, Mumbai should have 184 shelter homes capable of housing 18,400 people. That’s only a third of the city’s homeless population based on the 2011 census figures, but it would still be a huge improvement. Currently, there are just 14 BMC shelters and another seven run by NGOs, which together house 1,920 people. Of these, the vast majority are children’s homes, housing orphans, drug-addicted teens, sex worker’s kids and street kids. And though the 2011 census recorded 15,274 homeless households, there’s no place for families like Anju’s to stay when roads flood and gutters overflow.

“Mumbai has a land crunch but we are in the process of building nine more shelters,” says assistant municipal commissioner Sangita Hasnale. “Currently, we are concentrating only on women and children.”

Activists insist this is an eyewash, which involves the BMC changing the nameplates on already-existing shelters for street kids run by established NGOs. Plus, they add, none of these shelters fulfill the National Urban Livelihood Mission’s basic criteria of welcoming people off the street. This was confirmed by managers of four shelters, who told TOI, they only accept men from state-run orphanages and women referred by other NGOs or the police.

Delhi-based activist Harsh Mander surmises that the BMC’s refusal to invest in homeless shelters may be linked to the government’s negative perception of them as migrants. This was a sentiment echoed in pockets where many of the pavement dwellers’ forefathers hailed from Gujarat.

Despite having homes where they can leave their children, most families choose to stay together. Savitha Karva has a cognitively-impaired daughter, but she won’t place her in a home even though she is at risk of being molested on the street. Instead, Karva stands guard the entire night, drifting off only when a friend, who sleeps under the same awning, takes up the vigil. “Drunk men fall on my daughter or press up against her,” she says, “I don’t know how she will survive once I’m gone.”

Many homeless people earn their keep by exchanging old clothes for cooking vessels and then reselling the clothes. During the rains, this business takes a hit because they can’t display their wares. They also can’t cook, forcing many to starve until the water recedes. That’s why Brijesh Arya, the founder of NGO Pehchan, is currently running a crowd-funding campaign to raise money for blankets, hospitalizations and food.

Demolitions are supposed to cease during the monsoon, but there’s been a spate of them this month near Charni Road station. During these drives, residents claim their belongings are burned, mud is kicked into their food and they are subjected to violent beatings and arrests. A few years back, Radha Rajput’s daughter-in-law was hit by a train while trying to salvage the family’s property. Now, her grandchildren leave their books and uniforms in school so they aren’t destroyed. “Radha’s twin grandsons, who are just two years old, are so traumatized,” says Pehchan social worker, Leena Patil, “that they start screaming hysterically the moment they see the police.”


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