A participant (V B Gupta) explaining his design and addressing to a query put by Salahuddin Saiphy in practical session during BSNL engineer's training programme on water harvesting
Delhi, the capital of India, is also its second most populous city. It draws hordes of migrants, who come in search of better lives. However, with the city failing to meet the needs of all migrants, many do not get even that most basic necessity shelter.
And it is during Delhi's notoriously cold winters that the need for shelter is particularly felt. The homeless of Delhi usually live on the capital's pavements, with no protection from the elements. Here, they bathe, cook, go to work and eat.
At the end of the day, when everything is done, it is time to hit the sack. But for the homeless of Delhi, who number at least a lakh (by 2011 Census), that is easier said than done. Nobody would want to snooze on a pavement, under foggy and rainy skies, with temperatures hitting below zero.
The number of severe cold days in the national capital in December 2019, made it the coldest December in a century after 1997. The Delhi government does provide night-time shelters for the homeless during winter. These are called 'Rain Baseras', a Hindi word meaning night homes.
However, the night shelters provided by the government are usually not good. They do not have enough blankets, quilts or other things to keep out the cold. Many homeless persons thus have no choice but to sleep out in the bitter cold.