Raging Pandemic and Unreliable Monsoon: The Unending Sorrow of the Homeless -Ritwika Mitra

-Newsclick.in

According to the Census 2011 the country has more than 1.7 million homeless people, among whom 938,384 live in urban areas. However, the number of homeless persons remains grossly under-documented till date.

Sultana and her husband, Sheikh Mofizul, are still struggling to come to terms with the death of their newborn. There is a lot to deal with – the loss of livelihood, death of a 13-day-old child, the deteriorating health of their two other children, the lack of two square meals a day and, most importantly, a roof over their heads.

When severe rainfall struck the capital in July, their newborn got sick. “The rain was torrential... He got a fever. By morning, he was dead,” says Sultana, a blank look on her face. Next to her, her two-year-old son wailed from the pain caused by blisters.

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