Number of homeless people increasing

Rawalpindi: The number of homeless people is increasing every year in the city due to non-availability of affordable residential units for marginalised segments of the society.

"We see people taking shelter under covered pavements of shops during nightime in extreme winter season. Their number is growing each year due to inflow of people from other areas in search of employment opportunities," said Sarena Mushtaq, who heads a non-governmental organisation (NGO). She said they are trying to form a group of NGOs to focus on the issue of homeless people in Rawalpindi and other areas where people arrive to earn their livelihood.

“First of all there is a need to introduce the culture of make-shift arrangements for residence of labourers near the sites of the development projects,” she said.

Sarena said it is highly unfortunate that no government department has specific data about homeless people in Rawalpindi so they are trying to generate resources to conduct survey to get to know the exact figures in this respect. She said they would also hold talks with the government officials to introduce residential projects especially for the homeless people who spend their life on footpaths and under open sky.