Why People Still Sleep On Bhubaneswar Streets

Several steps are being taken to bring the homeless into the night shelters. However, many people still prefer to sleep on footpaths of the capital city, Bhubaneswar.

Be it sweltering heat or heavy downpour or the winter chill, these homeless still go through the hardship of spending nights under open sky. But Why?

When OTV took a tour of the city at night, we found many people sleeping on footpaths, on medians and under flyovers. When asked about it, many homeless people claim that they either did not know about the shelter homes or do not know where these are located. If they somehow managed fine these night shelters, there they are not aware of how to avail the services.

While taking the tour we also visited several night shelters to see how it functions. This night shelter is situated in Kargil Slum in Malisahi area where our team has reached. To our surprise, when our correspondent knocked on the doors, no one was there to answer. There was a helpline number and when we called, the number was inactive.

Though some night shelters are properly functional, others are not being fully utilized. Lack of awareness among its targeted beneficiaries is proving to be a major roadblock.