Lahore:
Most people usually complain of the last weather or the tobacco calendar rest comfortably on their foam mattresses in their air -conditioned rooms at night. However, for the homeless people who spend their nights desperately seeking shelter while escaping the repressions of the police, sleep takes over before being able to even think about complaining.
During the mandate of the previous elected government, Panah Gah or night refuge houses were created to help the homeless sleep safely at night. However, in the past three years, the Punjab government has closed these installations, following which the homeless who sleep on the roads and the sidewalks are exposed to difficult weather conditions during the winter and summer months. In Lahore Reauche, nearly 1,700 homeless have lost their lives in the past three years.
A homeless couple, Inam and Asiya, who are now sleeping near Lal Pul along the canal, shared their experience. “A few years ago, we used to go to a refuge near the station at the night when we got a bed and food. Then we returned to work the next morning. But during the last three years, the shelters have been closed. We have made a temporary place near LAL PUL. Sometimes, the police nights are our biggest enemy”, let’s share the couple.
The spokesperson for the Edhi Foundation Muhammad Younis Bhatti confirmed that the mortality rate among those who slept on the trails during the winter and summer months has increased considerably in the past three years, mainly due to the lack of shelters. “Previously, the shelters provided 8 to 10 hours of rest per day, but their closure complicated the situation. In summer, the trails are burning, while in winter, the frost intensifies the cold. Therefore, an increase in death occurs during these three to five months,” noted Bhatti.
According to the sources of the Express PK Press Club, the greatest number of unidentified deaths is reported in areas such as Data Darbar, Bhati Gate, Tibbi City, Qila Gujar Singh, Muslim Town, Kahna, Shahdara, Kot Lakhpat, Lari Adda, Mozang and Garden Town. While more than 170 permanent and temporary accommodation houses have been built through Punjab, including 13 in Lahore, there is only one functional shelter at home each in Multan, DG Khan, Taunsa Sharif, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Bahawalpur and Sargodha, and only six remain operational in Lahore.
The Social Protection Public Protection Director Muzammil Yaar, revealed that more than 50% of refuge houses were initially built in collaboration with philanthropes, but over time, most of them have been closed. “Even some of the shelters originally directed by the Department of Social Protection have been closed. A refuge has staff of more than 10 people and is aimed at more than 100 people per day. The government has not allocated a significant budget to extend the refuge network.
Consequently, in Lahore and through Punjab, the closure of shelters in the past three years has directly contributed to the number of deaths among the homeless, in particular those exposed to difficult weather conditions or in the grip with drug addiction, “said Yaar.
“A significant percentage of deaths reported among the homeless occurs due to drug abuse, which is aggravated by extreme weather conditions. Many of these people become dependent simply to kill time, and in the past three years, the drug addiction among them has increased by more than 40%,” said Syed Zulfiqar Hussain, rehabilitation consultant.
In the meantime, a spokesperson for the Punjab government said that, although in the past, temporary arrangements had been taken for the homeless, the current government worked on a permanent solution to the problem.
