Several irregularities and poor management plague night shelters - ren basera - set up by the Jaipur Municipal Corporation, a survey has revealed.
More than 50 law students, interning with Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), conducted the survey on the eve of Human Rights Day to assess the situation in the shelter homes in the city.
"During the survey, it was found that only 28 shelters out of the 30 announced by the JMC exist," Ashok Khandelwal, Advisor to the Commissioners of Supreme Court, told reporters here today.
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"According to Supreme Court orders, there should be more than 35 shelters but there are only 28 and they are all poorly managed," he said.
Khandelwal, who assisted the students, said that the law students, under the guidance of PUCL, conducted surveys of the ren baseras in zones such as Shastri Nagar, Vidhyadhar Nagar and Sanganer.
"There is no proper facility and management in most of the ren baseras. Families are not given entry in most of them whereas in one Ren Basera in Vidhyadhar Nagar zone, the guard takes Rs 10 to Rs 40 as entry fee," a law student said.
"It is a paradox that people sleep outside as most shelters are centres of extortion. There is no sanitation, no arrangement of potable water," he said.
"Homeless people said there was no discipline in the shelters. Guards do not allow families to stay together so they prefer to sleep on roads in the open," he said.
"Many of the shelters had garbage all around. They also lack basic amenities. Water in most places was dirty, including worm infested, in the Thadi market area, and toilets were very dirty in most of the places," PUCL General Secretary Kavita Srivastava said.
When contacted, JMC CEO Jagroop Singh expressed ignorance about the situation.
"It is not in my knowledge whether any guard demanded entry fees," he said, adding that he will look into it.
