By TCN Staff Reporter,
New Delhi: A survey of homeless people under the “Samajik Suvidha Sangam” scheme of Delhi government was organized near Khalilullah Mosque in Jamia Nagar on December, 18. This drive is part of the scheme, currently going on in the entire Delhi, aimed at identifying all the homeless people in the Union Territory.
More than 500 rickshaw pullers, garbage pickers and other labors from Jamia Nagar and adjoining areas participated in this survey. As a part of the drive they were given a slip. After some time they will be given a Homeless I Card.
The survey is also being done because the government doesn’t have any data about homeless people because of which it has been unable to formulate a separate policy for them in spite of them being in huge numbers.
“Hopefully, after this survey, people with Homeless I Card will be given some social benefits like the BPL Cards holders are given,” said Faisal Khan of National Alliance for People’s Movement (NAPM) which organized the survey in collaboration with Asha Parivar and local students of Jamia Millia Islamia.
“All the marginalized sections of society will have to come together and prepare a joint strategy, if they want to solve their problems,” he further added.
Mr. Khan said that, civil society needs to work for the poor people considering them as human being and not just a project.
He emphasized on the need for more and more Muslim organizations to come forward and take part in these kinds of schemes because Muslims constitute a large chunk of the marginalized and deprived sections.
Volunteers who worked enthusiastically to mobilize people and make the survey “successful” included the Gandhian activist Ajai Sahi, Umar Aman, Shueb Ahmad, Nazim, Mohseen Ali, Rabbani Bhai, Zafar Iqbal, Shkil Ahmed, Anant Deep Mishra, Adnan Mahmood Sher.