Veroli Zhimo
The homeless population in Dimapur area seems to be steadily increasing.
In the past, one would notice a few beggars and rag pickers seeking shelter in areas nearby the Dimapur Railway Station. But in recent times, the numbers have increased to a few hundred indicating that the problem is much bigger than most people realize.
They also seem to be spreading out across the town area in places like the New Market Area, NL Road and under the flyover.
While the homeless populace primarily comprises of beggars and rag pickers, or daily wage workers many of whom are from outside the state, there are also several Nagas among them.
Various NGOs and organizations that work with vulnerable sections have pointed out that while poverty is an obvious factor that drives people towards homelessness, there are several other factors such as disability, mental health issues, substance abuse, etc that contribute to the phenomena.
In this scenario, it is important to note that a State Level Committee for progress of Shelter for Urban Homeless (SUH) was formed in November 2018.
One of the main objectives of SUH which is a component of the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) is to "ensure availability and access of the urban homeless population to permanent shelters including the basic infrastructure facilities like water supply, sanitation, safety and security."
Notably, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs had set 2022 as the target year to provide shelter to the urban homeless.
Within the Dimapur area, a number of NGOs and faith-based institutions have been instrumental in providing relief in the form of weekly community kitchen initiatives, and organizing donation drives to clothe the homeless, among others.
The women and children appear to be considerably 'fortunate' as most of the NGO shelter programmes are conceptualized with them as targeted beneficiaries. However, these interventions are all stopgap arrangements.
In the larger scheme of things, there appears to be a need to analyse how and why homelessness, a fairly uncommon problem in the context of Naga society, is increasing.
When the problem is understood, perhaps policy interventions to get them off the streets can be framed.
In the meantime, considering that providing individual homes to each homeless person is not a feasible or sustainable strategy, perhaps the State Level Committee can also explore the possibility of State-funded shelter homes which would double as vocational training centres and provide skills for unskilled people. This would provide the homeless with a place to go till such a time that they can stand on their feet and become productive members of the society.
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