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Gallery|Poverty and Development

As winter chill sets in, Delhi’s homeless struggle to stay warm

Tens of thousands of the unhoused in India’s capital struggle to find shelter as temperatures fall.

India Night Shelters for Homeless
A homeless family gathers around a stove on a cold evening in the compound of a dilapidated shelter for the unhoused in New Delhi. [Altaf Qadri/AP]
Published On 3 Jan 20233 Jan 2023
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When midnight approaches in New Delhi and a cold fog settles over the Indian capital, thousands of homeless people put down torn mattresses and blankets on the pavement and lie on them to keep warm.

Those who can’t afford the blankets spend the night around a smoldering fire built with 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 bout of winter cold that is blamed for killing scores of unhoused people and leaves tens of thousands of others shivering on the streets.

On Sunday, New Delhi recorded a low of 5.5C (41.9F), and India’s weather forecasting agency warned of a severe cold wave from Monday.

New Delhi’s 20 million inhabitants are conditioned to weather extremes from blistering heat waves in the summer to thick, grey smog that envelopes the capital before the onset of the winter when a brutal cold wave sweeps across most of northern India. The cold blankets streets in fog so thick that drivers cannot see cars in front of them, causing accidents.

The 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 unsanitary toilets and no water.

“Overcrowding is a big problem. Because of too much footfall, some people sleep on the roadside,” said Sunil Kumar Aledia of the Centre for Holistic Development, who has worked with Delhi’s homeless population for decades.

India’s 2011 census figures showed about 47,000 of the city’s residents were homeless, but activists say the number is a vast underestimate and New Delhi has more than 150,000 people without permanent residences to sleep in.

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

India Night Shelters for Homeless
An elderly woman lives on the pavement outside a shelter for homeless people in India's capital. Even overcrowded with people, these shelters can only take in 19,000 people when homeless advocates say the city has more than 150,000 unhoused people. [Altaf Qadri/AP]
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India Night Shelters for Homeless
Homeless people sleep in the open under an overpass on a winter night. [Altaf Qadri/AP]
India Night Shelters for Homeless
Mangla Kumari laments the potentially dangerous condition of the dilapidated shelter they live in. [Altaf Qadri/AP]
India Night Shelters for Homeless
New Delhi's residents are used to temperature extremes, but the cold of winter kills scores of unhoused people each year. [Altaf Qadri/AP]
India Night Shelters for Homeless
Members of a homeless family warm themselves around a bonfire inside a New Delhi shelter. Even though the city’s night shelters are a refuge to many who would otherwise find themselves sleeping outdoors, most unhoused people there live under harsh, unsanitary conditions. [Altaf Qadri/AP]
India Night Shelters for Homeless
India’s 2011 census showed about 47,000 of the city’s residents were homeless, but activists say the number is a vast underestimate and New Delhi has more than 150,000 rough sleepers.[Altaf Qadri/AP]
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India Night Shelters for Homeless
A homeless family cooks their evening meal over a stove at a shelter. Conditions there might be poor, but they are fortunate to have a place to go. Tens of thousands of other homeless people in India's capital sleep on the streets or under overpasses. [Altaf Qadri/AP]
India Night Shelters for Homeless
The piercing cold is an ordeal for New Delhi’s homeless, who sometimes don't have what they need to survive it. [Altaf Qadri/AP]
India Night Shelters for Homeless
Sewer water flows next to a shanty built in the compound of a dilapidated shelter for homeless people. [Altaf Qadri/AP]


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