HC asks authorities to ensure no dearth of food, water for homeless workers during lockdown

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The Delhi High Court Monday directed the Delhi government to continue with the steps to ensure there is no dearth of food, water, electricity and sanitation requirements in the area where the inhabitants of Yamuna Pushta have been relocated for the lockdown period to contain the spread of coronavirus.

A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad, conducting the hearing through video conferencing, said it was satisfied with the steps taken by the authorities to ensure that the homeless persons, who were earlier stranded at Yamuna Pushta, and those at the Labour camp near Sarai Kale Khan are being supplied food and other facilities on a regular basis during the lockdown period.

The court disposed of a petition seeking direction to the Delhi government, DUSIB, Delhi Police and Labour Department to provide facilities to thousands of homeless persons, daily wage workers, stranded and living in the open along the bank of river Yamuna at Kashmere Gate here who are without any shelter, toilet or medical facility.

Petitioner Sunil Kumar Aledia claimed that payment was being demanded for using public toilet facilities in and around homeless shelters and slum clusters.

He further claimed that construction workers of a company, engaged in a Pragati Maidan project, are also stranded without any proper provision for their food at the labour camp near Sarai Kale Khan.

The court was informed by Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain, representing the Delhi government and various other authorities, that out of 4,229 inhabitants living at Yamuna Pushta, from April 14-16, 3,600 have been shifted to different schools in Delhi, 600 have been shifted to the Yamuna Sports Complex.

Another 358 workers have been moved to shelter homes being run by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board(DUSIB).

He added that DUSIB has arranged make-shift shelters for them at whichever place they have been shifted to and besides this, arrangements have been made for providing free food, potable water, mobile toilet vans, sanitation and medical facilities.

The ASG said none of the daily wage workers are stranded and living in the open at Yamuna pushta, as asserted by the petitioner.

After noting the submissions, the bench said it was satisfied that all the three issues raised in the petition have been satisfactorily addressed by the concerned authorities and there is no reason to keep the matter pending.

Accordingly, the present petition is disposed of with directions issued to the respondents (authorities) to continue taking necessary steps to ensure that there is no dearth of food, potable water, electricity and other requirements of sanitation in the area where the inhabitants of Yamuna Pushta have now been relocated or the Labour Camps at Sarai Kale Khan throughout the lockdown period, the bench said.

Regarding the claim that charges were being taken for using toilet facilities, the government said since January 2018, DUSIB has been providing toilet facilities in JJ clusters without levying any