Shelter for the Homeless ?

Times of India ( 29 Aug ) carries a report titled :

“ 90 % of urban homeless have no shelter : SC Panel “

The report says :

·         As per the 2011 census, of the 17.73 lakh homeless in the country, around 10 lakh are in urban areas, with as much as 65.3 % of homeless living in UP, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh , Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat

·         In these states, state governments have provided a total of approx. 800 shelters to accommodate some 48,000 persons ( ave of 60 persons per shelter )

·         Since launch of National Urban Livelihoods Mission ( NULM ) in 2013 , the Centre has released Rs2,185 crore worth of funds, of which , less than 50% are utilized

·         Lack of shelter leads to unnatural deaths during peak summer and winter months

·         There is lack of will on the part of the States

Here are two solutions :

SHORT  TERM

On 29 March 2014 , WinSun constructed TEN , 3D printed houses ( 200 sq meter each ) in Shanghai , each costing $ 4,800 ( approx  Rs 3 lakh each ! ), and each capable of housing 10 persons

That is 30.000  houses for Rs 1,000 crores ( money not yet spent by the States ) – enough to house 3 lakh persons

No reason why some 3,000 + acres of Mumbai’s Salt Pan land cannot be used for housing the homeless

LONG  TERM

·         India has more than 1.6 million transport buses , of which some 170,000 belong to various State Transport departments . These are petrol / diesel buses

Now , our Central Government wants to phase out ( scrap ) these  petrol / diesel buses  and buy ELECTRIC buses

As once seen on TV , in Delhi , homeless persons were able to sleep in discarded buses

If these buses still have good roofs by the time these get retired , then all 17.73 lakh homeless of India can sleep in these 1.6 million buses !

Of course , there is no solution for “ lack of will “  !

29  Aug  2017

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