Winter is a fun time for people in India. We become lazier this season more. Another chilling morning in Delhi, minimum temperature recorded is 4.4 degree Celsius. It continued to shrive as a bones hilling cold settled over the city. It is been recorded the coldest day in 44 years and continue doing the same. Hundreds of thousands of homeless people in the capital and across northern India are facing a battle for survival as minimum temperatures continue to hover near zero. Up to 150 people have died in two northern states, where temperatures have dropped to near freezing. Such temperatures are not unheard of, but the homeless, who in India number about 78 million, are ill equipped to handle it.
The problems at not only up to Delhi but also in Mumbai and other cities. It was my personal experience when I had a random talk with one of the labourer in Mumbai.
For Bola Singh, a homeless labourer, surviving this exceptionally harsh winter has been difficult. Sitting under a massive concrete flyover in the posh South Delhi neighborhood of the Indian capital, Mr. Singh is equipped only with a thin sweater and shawl to protect him from the cold. His lifeline is a small bonfire made of old newspapers and waste plastic items. "It's difficult to survive these temperatures. I cannot afford to buy clothes to fight the chill. It's the waste we burn that keeps us alive," Mr. Singh said. The winters are always a tough time for the homeless. We have been working for the betterment of this community for last 10 years
Non-governmental organizations campaigning for the rights of the homeless in New Delhi describe the situation as grave. As the government does not keep any official figures, the organizations estimate the number of homeless in the Delhi area to be 150,000. They claim that only five per cent to seven per cent of homeless people manage to find refuge in night shelters, which are run by either the government or the NGOs.
For Bola Singh, a homeless labourer, surviving this exceptionally harsh winter has been difficult. Sitting under a massive concrete flyover in the posh South Delhi neighborhood of the Indian capital, Mr. Singh is equipped only with a thin sweater and shawl to protect him from the cold. His lifeline is a small bonfire made of old newspapers and waste plastic items. "It's difficult to survive these temperatures. I cannot afford to buy clothes to fight the chill. It's the waste we burn that keeps us alive," Mr. Singh said. The winters are always a tough time for the homeless. We have been working for the betterment of this community for last 10 years
Non-governmental organizations campaigning for the rights of the homeless in New Delhi describe the situation as grave. As the government does not keep any official figures, the organizations estimate the number of homeless in the Delhi area to be 150,000. They claim that only five per cent to seven per cent of homeless people manage to find refuge in night shelters, which are run by either the government or the NGOs.
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