New Delhi: Crumbling walls, leaking roofs and locked toilets greeted officials who inspected the family shelter at Motia Khan recently, exposing the grim reality of how hundreds of homeless families stay in the city.The inspection, led by Dr Indu Prakash Singh, member of the State-Level Shelter Monitoring Committee (SLSMC), was carried out in the presence of KP Singh, junior engineer of Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), the contractor in charge of reconstruction, community members and representatives of the Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN). The purpose of the inspection was to review the progress of reconstruction, highlight the problems of the inmates and discuss solutions to ensure the timely completion of work.Motia Khan has a unique history in Delhi’s shelter network. In 2010, Delhi High Court ordered that 70 families — 309 people in total — be shifted there from Rachna Golchakkar near Pusa Road. “The move converted a building into one of the first family shelters for the homeless in the city. These are many people who have been rendered homeless because of the demolitions of illegally occupied houses and habitations over the last 30-40 years,” said Dr Singh. He added, “If you talk to the residents, you’ll find they were displaced from various slums. This shelter finally gave them a place to stay, and now the conditions are so bad. We have submitted the inspection report to DUSIB, which has assured us of positive action on the matter.” A decade and a half later, the shelter building has deteriorated. The roof leaks and the water flowing down the stairs makes them dangerously slippery. Families are compelled to live in cramped, unsafe rooms. The reconstruction has stalled for months with no clarity on when it will resume. The report says the basic services, too, have collapsed. The water pipeline was damaged during the reconstruction work and there is no drinking water. The toilets are unusable because of the lack of water and regular cleaning. The residents complain they are forced to seek alternatives outside the shelter. The inspection also revealed clogged drainage, resulting in stagnant pools of water that have become breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Such unhygienic conditions are especially severe on the ground floor, where families are directly exposed. And with municipal workers refusing to collect garbage from the shelter, residents are left with no option but to dump waste wherever they can, worsening the environs. Children’s safety is another concern. The terrace of the building has no railings or a secure door to block access. Parents fear their kids will wander into the unsafe area. “This thought causes us constant source,” one resident said. After the inspection, immediate and long-term action points were drawn up, including urgently repairing the broken water pipeline, fixing the drainage and installing a secure terrace door to prevent accidents. Longer-term measures involve ensuring functional toilets with water and cleaning and provision of reliable electricity, garbage disposal service and regular maintenance. Engineer Singh said the reconstruction project would be completed by Nov.
