Delhi govt increases night shelter number amid severe cold

New Delhi, Jan 15 (PTI) The Delhi government has intensified efforts to protect homeless people from the severe winter cold, expanding night shelter facilities and stepping up rescue operations around major hospitals.

According to a statement, special focus has been placed on areas surrounding AIIMS–Safdarjung and G B Pant Hospital, where a large number of destitute people are often found sleeping in the open.

The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), along with shelter management agencies, is conducting regular night drives to look for the homeless and move them to shelters.

The shelter capacity around the AIIMS–Safdarjung area has been increased to 350 beds, according to the statement.

Besides the existing 32 temporary 'pagoda' shelters with a capacity of 320 beds, three more have been added. Temporary shelter arrangements, with beds and bedding, have been made in subways near hospitals.

Under a midnight drive, around 75 homeless persons were rescued from the AIIMS–Safdarjung area and shifted to shelters, the statement said.

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said that under the Winter Action Plan 2025–26, around 250 temporary pagoda night shelters have been set up in sensitive and high-footfall locations across the city.

In addition, DUSIB is operating 197 permanent round-the-clock shelters across Delhi, all of them equipped with bedding, meals, sanitation and drinking water. Around G B Pant Hospital, eight temporary pagoda shelters with a capacity of 80 beds have been set up, Gupta said.

She said that agencies running night shelters are carrying out inspections every night between 10 pm and 4 am to identify people sleeping in unsafe locations and bring them to shelters.

A central control room is functioning round-the-clock to coordinate rescue and shelter operations. PTI SHB VN VN