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Delhi govt shelter: 11 deaths in 2 months; women forced to change in open
A recent inspection by the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) revealed that around 11 deaths were recorded in the past two months at the government shelter for women in the capital city.
A recent inspection by the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) revealed that around 11 deaths were recorded in the past two months at the government shelter for women in the capital city.
According to media reports, the DCW inspection also discovered that women inmates were forced to change in the open, with male staff manning the CCTV cameras at the shelter that is ironically named ‘Asha Kiran’ (ray of hope).
The agony doesn’t end there. The nightlong inspection by DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal and her team also found the state of the toilets and other infrastructure at the shelter deplorable.
The team found the washrooms used by the inmates covered in excreta, menstruation blood and urine. Even the rooms that were accommodating the patients were reeking of urine, DCW officials were quoted as saying.
“The inmates were being forced to sweep, wash clothes and look after fellow boarders. A woman was helping other inmates take a bath. An employee was getting her legs massaged,” Maliwal said.
Furthermore, the children housed at the shelter were not given mattresses and were made to sleep in the cold as they wet the bed.
In addition to the long list of human rights violations, the team also found that there was only one staff to help 153 women in a dormitory. Incidentally, the shelter which houses 450 women and children has an approved capacity of only 350.
“Half of them could not walk or were bedridden. There was only one woman to take care of them. Is it possible for a single person to take that many people to the toilet?” Maliwal wondered.
Dismayed by the shabby state of the shelter, the DCW has sought details of the 11 deaths that were recorded with copies of the autopsies.
Notably, the shelter for mentally-challenged women did not have an in-house psychiatrist to address the patients’ needs. A psychiatrist visited the shelter twice a week for a few hours.
Flagging horrific conditions and deaths at the Asha Kiran Home for the mentally challenged, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also directed the Chief Secretary to intervene immediately on Monday and set the situation right and file a report in a week.
