A home away from home

Delhi Commission for Women to set up a Short-Stay Home for homeless women; hopes will make Delhi safer

A home away from home

Delhi Commission for Women to set up a Short-Stay Home for homeless women; hopes will make Delhi safer

The Commonwealth Games may finally make Delhi a little safer for its women. To help curb crimes against the fairer sex in the city, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) is planning to set up a short-stay home for homeless women.

Barkha Singh, chairperson of the DCW said, "As the homeless women are soft targets for anti-social elements, we have decided to set up a short-stay home to rehabilitate them. We have observed the existing infrastructure is not enough to provide shelter to women who have left their houses and families for various reasons."

The rehabilitation shelter will help curb crimes against women and improve the city's image during the 2010 C'wealth Games. "We don't want the city to be defamed as a place unsafe for women.u00a0 The shelter will also helpu00a0 these women during the upcoming winter season," said Singh.

Apart from offering a safe and homely environment, the homeless will be provided basic facilities at the short-stay home. "We are actively working on the project. The shelter will be ready by the end of this year," said Singh.

The short-stay home will accommodate around 50 to 60 women for seven to 10 days. To workout the plan, DCW is already in talks with 22 NGOs.

However, experts say the the plan is too insignificant considering the high crime rate and the large number of homeless women in the capital. But DCW is confident. "This is just the beginning. We will increase the capacity with time," said Singh.

According to a report by Space for the Homeless and Marginalised in Delhi, backed by Action Aid India and the Slum and Resettlement Wing of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, in July 2003, the total homeless population in India is 78 million (based on the 2001 Census). The problem was more acute in Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi, which put together were reported to have 78 per cent of the houseless population.

Even the Delhi Development Authority admits that at least one per cent of the population in Delhi is homeless.

This means that no fewer than 1,40,000 people live on the streets of Delhi. This figure does not include those who sleep in carts or rickshaws or under flimsy plastic-sheet roofs.

The city now has only one short-stay home for women, Nirmal Chhaya. The Young Women's Christian Association and Bapno Ghar for women are some others which have similar facilities.

1,40,000u00a0
the number of homeless who live on the streets of Delhi