Heartbreaking Scene: Night Shelters Overflow as Patients and Families Brave the Bone-Chilling Cold Outside Hospitals
As Delhi grapples with a biting cold, with temperatures plummeting to a chilling 4.6 degrees Celsius, many vulnerable families are enduring particularly harsh nights. Among them is 27-year-old Yashodha Kumari, who has journeyed from Palamu, Jharkhand. With her husband undergoing treatment for a throat tumor at AIIMS, Kumari has been forced to pitch a makeshift camp outside the medical facility each night after the nearby shops in Ansari Nagar close. “The nights are getting chillier, but I don’t have any other option,” she shares, desperately wrapping her one-year-old daughter in layers of blankets to shield her from the biting cold.
Kumari’s plight is far from unique. Hundreds of patients and their families find themselves unfurling blankets outside the AIIMS metro station, seeking refuge beneath the open sky. Many have traveled from states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, and Bihar, in search of affordable or free medical treatment, yet without the means to secure proper shelter for themselves. Their struggles were exacerbated this past Friday night, when rain soaked their belongings, leaving clothes and blankets dripping wet.
Across the street, temporary night shelters operated by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board are filled to capacity, as is AIIMS’s ‘Vishram Sadan’ dormitory, designed for the very purpose of accommodating patients and their families. NGOs have attempted to assist by offering alternative shelter options, like a facility in Geeta Colony, more than 15 kilometers away, where only a few beds remain available. “I prefer to stay near the hospital for regular appointments and check-ups,” explains Sunil, 25, from Gaya, Bihar, who is battling a kidney ailment.
The crisis has drawn the attention of non-profit organizations. The Centre for Holistic Development (CHD) has reached out to Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda, calling for more makeshift tents and night shelters near major hospitals in Delhi. Sunil Kumar Aledia, the executive director of CHD, highlighted the alarming situation, noting a recent count of 7,882 individuals who are forced to sleep outside hospitals such as AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital, and Lady Hardinge Medical College. He warned that the conditions could lead to serious health risks, including hypothermia and respiratory infections.
While AIIMS officials encourage patients to utilize their in-house shelters like Vishram Sadan, which offers 694 beds, and the ‘Ashray’ camp with 250 beds, desperation persists. A notice board outside Vishram Sadan revealed grim news on Friday night: the dormitories were at full capacity.
As the winter chill continues to bite and rainfall complicates living conditions, the urgent need for more accommodating solutions remains evident. Families like Kumari’s are left searching for basic necessities amid a growing humanitarian crisis, with winter nights proving increasingly perilous for those reliant on city hospitals for critical care.
Original Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/night-shelters-packed-patients-kin-brave-the-cold-outside-hospitals/article70495907.ece
Category : Delhi
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Publish Date: 2026-01-11 01:49:00
