Rain Baseras, or a night shelters, as provided by the state governments in various cities are generally the last refuge for the homeless and poor. Their need for these shelters become urgent during winters, as is the case now. Therefore, when the District Magistrate of Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, Mr Ajay Shankar Pandey, came across allegations that a number of essential items were either missing or malfunctioning in the shelters situated in the district, he decided to check things out for himself.
So, on the night of December 30, 2020, when the entire North India was reeling under an intense cold wave, Mr. Pandey started making the rounds of the night shelters. It was not a cursory official visit, as some would assume. The collector spent several hours here, interacted with the poor, and saw for himself if anything was amiss in the shelters.
This was unprecedented, in a way that no district collector in Ghaziabad had ever done such a thing before. No wonder, his gesture is being appreciated all over. In fact, what provoked him to make detailed inspections of the shelters was the comment by a complainant (who is also said to be a social worker of the area) that “The rain baseras in your nearby areas are kept in such poor condition that you cannot even enter it and sit there for 10 minutes. Also, you won’t even think of touching the dirty blankets.”
In a telephonic interview with Indian Masterminds, Mr. Pandey said “The condition of shelter homes in our district has been good and have been continuously monitored by the municipal corporation and District Urban Development Agency (DUDA). However, as the complaint was being made in public, I assured the complainant that I will surely visit and stay for the night in all the shelters for which the complaint has been made.”
The phone number of the complainant was taken and all the names of the shelter homes were noted. The complainant commented “I’ll wait for this day to happen” and left.
KEEPING THE PROMISE
This was on December 30th. Later that day at 11 pm, Mr. Pandey left his office and began conducting the inspection of all the shelter homes which the complainant had mentioned. First, he reached the Arthala shelter home and started interacting with the people. During his stay there, he closely inspected the blankets, beds as well as the overall condition of the shelter.
Mr. Pandey said, “There were many people who were using the shelter homes; after inspection, it turned out that the complaint was made vaguely and things were fine in that shelter.”
Soon Mr. Pandey left for an inspection in another shelter home in Rajnagar. The complainant was a resident of the area and was also complaining about the shelter home located there. Mr. Pandey arrived and saw people resting in their individual beds. While conducting the inspection, DM’s staff tried calling the complainant and after many attempts, he picked up the call.
On informing the complainant about the DM visiting a shelter home in his locality and keeping the promise that he made in the office, the staff asked him to come and meet the DM. The complainant replied, “I will be there in 15 minutes”. However, it turned out to be a false promise as the person switched off his phone and never showed up.
SPENT AMPLE TIME IN NIGHT SHELTERS
Mr. Pandey told Indian Masterminds, “While waiting for the social worker, I sat on a bed in the shelter home and asked my PA to take out the official files. On knowing that the complainant has switched off his mobile phone, I completed checking the files which took an hour.”
As it was a surprise visit, the manager of the shelter home got new bedsheets and blankets for the District Collector which he refused as he was already using the old ones. The cold weather in the city also made him use the blankets which were kept there.
After spending two hours in the common shelter and waiting for the complainant, Mr. Pandey decided to go back to his residence. The condition of the shelter home was satisfactory, according to Mr. Pandey, and an order was passed by him for daily inspection of all the thirty shelter homes in the district by the concerned officials.
