Hyderabad: No GHMC special drive for homeless

Hyderabad: Large numbers of people, mostly homeless, are sleeping at Nampally railway station, Mehdipatnam flyover and on footpaths near Secunderabad railway station. They manage to live by begging near traffic signals. With no shelters, every night the homeless/ beggars sleep near railway stations, bus stands, underneath the Metro stations and footpaths.

Though the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has set up 15 shelter homes to make the city beggar-free, many are found begging at junctions, footpaths, railway stations.

As mercury dips in the city, the civic body officials are not conducting frequent special drives to move the homeless to shelter homes. They are not ready to comment on the issue. According to sources, the GHMC is only moving the homeless/ beggars to shelter homes if complaints are registered on the GHMC App or through Twitter.

Most homeless are seen at places like Secunderabad railway station, sleeping on footpaths and on station premises shivering in cold. I request authorities to take up a special drive and move them to shelter homes, Says K Mukesh of Secunderabad.

Harish Daga, an activist, said GHMC is not taking up any special drive to move the homeless to shelter homes. Even the Urban Community Development (UCD) wing is not at all active; doesn't have any specific contact number zonal wise.A couple of years ago the corporation distributed blankets to the homeless, but it is not doing so and also not conducting special drives, he added.