NEW DELHI, JANUARY 19: Delhi is shivering. It's 9 at night, really cold, around 8 degrees Celsius. Many of the occupants at the MCD-run night shelter at Turkman Gate are just back from the mean streets to a familiar warmth.The lights are on and the TV blaring. But several of them are sleeping, filling the huge hall in neat little rows.Salim Ahmed is about to lie down and he thanks God for the shelter. ``For Rs 5 a day, I get a durrie and as many blankets as I want. The place is clean, has a bathroom and a regular supply of drinking water. More than anything else, it gives me a roof above my head. What more do I want?''The Turkman Gate shelter, which accommodates 150 people and is nearly full in winter, has been home to Ahmed, a small-time electrician from Pithoragarh, whose work schedule depends on the mercy of builders. And for many others like him. They leave at 7 in the morning, hunt for job in the day or sell assorted things on Delhi's streets. They come back in the evening to the shelter which they share with beggars and the homeless of the city.Hansraj, who looks for walls to paint, does not have an option. ``We are all daily wagers and since all of us want to send as much money back home as possible, we sleep here. The people running the place are kind and the regulars are almost like friends.'' Hansraj is from Garhwal, one of the many who keeps the money-order economy of his land going.Though there is a slight Dickensian touch to the night of crumpled blankets, there is enough warmth and camaraderie. After the struggling day out in the cold, they are all back to share their problems and stories. They keep tabs on each other and even lend money to others.They have their fixed slots in the hall, they find their own corners and reserve a place for their friends who land late. On the walls, hooks to hang clothes share space with photographs of various gods and saints of various religions. The inmates say they share festivals too.Sometimes, amid the beggars and the regulars at these night shelters, there is a face that stands out. Like that of John Mutun, who says he is from Uganda, who spends his nights at MCD's rain basera at Meena Bazaar. ``I'm a student in Baroda and am here to check out my prospects for higher studies in Delhi University. I will leave in a couple of days,'' he says.However, regulars say he has been sleeping here for the last several months and is a petty salesman who sells watches and other ``foreign'' stuff. ``How does it matter to us who they are and where they come from, so long as they follow the rules and leave in the morning?'' says Gopal Singh Negi, the guard.And the rules are strict. No one is allowed to smoke or drink inside and everyone is frisked thoroughly by the gate-keepers before being allowed in. And whatever condition they may be in, they have to leave by 7 a.m. as the shelter is open only from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.And these rules, says Negi, is the reason that many prefer to sleep outside. In fact right outside the shelter in Meena Bazaar, there are many who rent out mattresses and quilts. They do brisk business. However, when it rains, the people who sleep outside make a beeline and the shelter gates, which are usually locked around midnight, are opened again. The shelter accommodates 600 people but when it rains, it opens its door to as many as 850 people.The tin roofs leak and rain drops trickle down in monsoon showers. ``Monsoon is the worst time of the year. During summer we have coolers and fans. During winters we get blankets. It is only when it rains that we have a tough time. But we are not complaining,'' says Ram Kumar, a construction worker who comes from a village near Aligarh.
