NEW DELHI: BJP on Saturday claimed that in the last 30 days, 162 homeless people in Delhi died due to different reasons, including cold and hunger.Delhi BJP general secretary Harsh Malhotra said that as per the Delhi Police’s data, 779 homeless died in the winter of 2018-19, 749 in 2019-20, 436 in 2020-21 and 545 in 2021-22. These figures are for the months of December and January, he added.Malhotra said that “it is a matter of regret that hundreds of homeless people die of cold every year in the country’s capital amidst the claims of the Delhi government of building shelters for the homeless”.The Delhi government did not reply to the allegations.Delhi Police, however, said the city has several unidentified bodies since many people who come from other states or have run away from home do not wish to go back and hence, they remain unidentified at times.”If we look at Central and North Delhi areas, these record more unidentified bodies because railway stations and bus stands are located in the vicinity. Some people come to the capital in search of work and then get into drugs or alcohol and die. Since they have fled from their homes, their families too don’t look for them and they remain unidentified. In a few cases, bodies thrown in a canal in Haryana also reach Delhi,” said a police officer.There is a set protocol that Delhi Police officers follow with regard to unidentified bodies. The details, along with relevant photographs, are published in newspapers, the officer said.BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor alleged that “the figures of the death of the homeless clearly show that the Kejriwal government is an insensitive government”. “The figures reveal that Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board of the Delhi government has delayed the work of setting up night shelters,” he claimed.The Kejriwal government should take concrete steps to provide proper facilities in night shelters for the homeless in Delhi, so that no more homeless die during the cold waves in January, he urged.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/bjp-targets-delhi-government-over-death-of-homeless-people-in-winter/articleshow/96656131.cms