The count in the countdown

On last night of Census Phase-2,enumerators took count of the homeless across the country. for many of those woken up in three major cities,the common dream was a home of their own.

Fear of remaining homeless forever

Rama Devi,51,whose family roots are in Munger,Bihar,has been living on the pavement of Jagannath Ghat Road on the banks of the Hooghly since birth. She has managed to maintain her portion of the pavement,in spite of warnings from the police and harassment by extortionists.

On Monday night,a group of men and women woke her up and enquired about her family,qualifications,source of income,and place of birth. It was the first time she remembers such a thing having happened.

Thousands of homeless people in Kolkata were counted on the night of February 28 by 1,500 enumerators,who looked under every flyover and footbridge,peeped into every hosepipe,and checked every pavement and every station.

At Jagannath Ghat Road near Hooghly Bridge,an area about 300 square metres is home to more than 250 families,mostly migrants from Bihar. The swampy area is close to the riverbank and the Mallik Ghat flower market; most residents work as helpers in onion and garlic shops in Burrabazar,and some in river vessels.

What they call home is tiny bits of the pavement demarcated by polythene sheets and bricks; they lose even that every monsoon when the area gets flooded. We have never received any medical or financial aid from the government. During the monsoon,life is hard. We wrap our belongings in plastic sheets,take out bricks and sit under some shade,praying for the rains to stop, says Rakesh Das,a migrant labourer from Madhubani in Bihar.

BPL cards and health insurance have never been given by the Kolkata Muncipal Corporation to these people. For them,the only face of the government is the police,who every fortnight take Rs 60 from every family,and Corporation cleaners who take Rs 5 daily to sweep the road. These rates vary from place to place,lucrative spots being Sealdah station,Nimtala Ghat and Sadar Street,where foreigners in many hotels mean odd jobs for such dwellers.

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Reactions to the exercise ranged from an urge to register themselves on some kind of a government document to defensiveness. Maine kuch nahin kiya, yelled a sleepy-eyed Bhola Seth,21,the moment an enumerators torch flashed on his face,waking him and his wife Panchi from their sleep on a van-rickshaw in front of Sealdah station.

Many sleeping similarly fled,till an exhortation from the Census team brought them scurrying back: If you dont get counted,you will never have a home.

It was an experience of a lifetime for us. We got to see a side of the city that remains mostly hidden, said Tandra Sen,an enumerator in borough number 4.

1,000
Enumerators,including 100 women
141
Wards covered
67,000
2001 homeless count
73,000
Tentative total expected