Delhi: The bitter cold of Delhi’s winter doesn’t just bite; it kills. Beneath the sprawling flyovers and along bustling footpaths, hundreds of homeless individuals are succumbing to the harsh elements. Their deaths go unnoticed, their lives unremembered, as the city carries on. The Zonal Integrated Police Network (ZIPNET) website has become a chilling archive, filled with photographs of the lifeless—unidentified, unclaimed, and forgotten.
Between December 1, 2024, and January 6, 2025, 280 unidentified bodies were discovered on the streets of Delhi, all of them homeless. As temperatures hover just above five degrees Celsius, the footpaths have turned into open graves, raising urgent questions about the city’s preparedness to protect its most vulnerable. Yet, despite these stark numbers, the pattern repeats year after year.
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Homeless dead claim the street
Photos of the deceased dominate the ZIPNET website. From the frail and elderly to the young and seemingly fit, the biting cold has exposed the vulnerabilities of Delhi’s homeless population. Footpaths resemble gravesites, while metro pillars stand as tombstones. Despite the rising death toll, governmental support remains minimal, leaving NGOs to bear the brunt of rescue efforts.
The severity of Delhi’s winters remains unchanged. During the same period last year, 325 homeless individuals were found dead on the city’s streets. Both the Centre and the Delhi government continue to shift blame, offering little solace to the affected.
“Footpaths have taken over the form of gravesites, while metro pillars have taken over the form of tombstones. However, their deaths remain unheard, with little in the way of the authorities going forth to support them, while NGOs go about their business saving the ones they come across while the unfortunate others perish,” said an activist.
How many died last year?
According to the Centre for Holistic Development (CHD), an NGO, eight homeless people died each day in January 2024 in Delhi. By January 23, 180 deaths were recorded, with the entire month tallying 359.
Delhi’s nooks and crannies serve as makeshift shelters for the homeless, who braved a bone chilling winter compounded by an unusual December cloudburst. The city recorded its highest single-day rainfall in December since 1923, alongside the fifth highest rainfall for the month. Between December 24 and 26, 28 unidentified bodies were discovered, with only three attributed to accidents. Tragically, two of these were newborns, their umbilical cords still attached.
Over a three-day span, the national capital recorded an average of 10 deaths per day among unidentified individuals.
Who collects the dead
For police officers, winter and summer bring an unsettling predictability—the grim task of collecting bodies from the streets. “Each year, the scenario remains the same. It was the same last year, and nothing as such has changed this year either. Every day we come across some dead body or the other, especially during the summers and the winters. Last week, I recovered five dead bodies on my route in a single day,” said a North District police officer.
“Finding a dead body almost every day barely lets anyone rest easily at night. Sometimes there are multiple deceased, while other times not many, but the situation seldom gets better. It takes a mental toll on us as well,” he added.
The dead include not only homeless adults but also abandoned infants. In the past month, four infants’ bodies were recovered, lying on footpaths or in garbage heaps across the city.
Homeless capital of Old Delhi
Jama Masjid Police Station’s jurisdiction sees the highest number of homeless deaths, earning the area the grim title of “Homeless Capital.” Despite hosting multiple night shelters, including Delhi’s largest hangar tent accommodating 60 people, the shelters fail to meet the demand. Most deceased individuals on the ZIPNET website were found near shops or around the historic mosque.
“Many of the homeless stay on the streets in these areas. Some do not want to use the night shelters, while others are possibly constrained by the lack of identification cards on them. As night passes, it also becomes the time for some of them to earn some money as well. While some wait at the Chor Bazaar since the market opens at four in the morning, others are given the opportunity to earn some money by guarding some shop or the other. This eventually leads to their deaths sometimes, especially affecting the old,” said a member of Maa Astha Samajik Vikas Sewa Sanstha NGO, on the condition of anonimity.
He further added, “The rules and regulations inside night shelters become a disagreeable point for many of the homeless as well. Some want to smoke and drink, and inside the shelters, it’s not possible. Eventually, they decide to remain outside, and the winter claims them.”
Why DUSIB’s tents find no takers
The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) claimed to have set up 235 tents for the homeless this winter. However, as of December 17, DUSIB’s Occupancy Report listed only 121 operational shelters, accommodating 2,490 people. Twenty-five tents recorded no footfall on December 16, highlighting underutilisation. This is starkly insufficient for Delhi’s estimated homeless population of three lakh, given the total capacity of just 20,544.
DUSIB’s Winter Action Plan proposed 200 250 additional waterproof, fire-retardant tents by December 1, 2023. NGOs, however, report significant delays, with actual deployment falling short. “Tents have been merged to inflate numbers, further worsening the crisis,” said NGO member Vikas Kumar.
Despite nightly rescue rounds by organisations such as Janpahal and Sofia Educational and Welfare Society, the gap between demand and supply leaves thousands exposed to winter’s harshness. “We go on nightly rounds to look for homeless people who need rescuing from the harsh winter in Delhi. Presently, we have not come across any dead body as such. Any person we see freezing in the winter, we rescue them. Some put up a fight when being rescued, but we are successful by the end of it. However, I believe that this time around, the death toll might increase, especially with the unseasonal rains,” said Ravi Kant from Sofia.
“The cold is just a factor that speeds up the effect. Many of them are afflicted by a wide array of diseases or have been abusing substances. None of them have had their post-mortem done,” alleged Gupta from Maa Astha.
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The cold killer
Experts warn that the combination of cold and substance abuse is a lethal mix.
“Many homeless ingest alcohol or abuse substances, especially during winters, to become numb to the cold. It starts innocently enough, but after that, it begins to weaken their immune system. This, inadvertently, makes them the easiest prey for the biting cold in the national capital, especially with the pollution,” said Dr Praveen Gupta, the Principal Director and Chief of Neurology, Fortis Hospital
He further highlighted, “Low temperatures can cause mental degradation, with the affected people becoming disoriented, dizzy, and confused with slurred speech as well. On the other hand, it can also cause hypothermia, causing the lowering of the affected person’s body temperature. Similarly, extreme cold can also raise the risk of strokes and heart attacks, while neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, as well as dementia, can also be exacerbated.”
While activists keep imploring the DUSIB for additional tents to accommodate the homeless, it has been mostly radio static that they have been facing in response.
