New Delhi, Dec 16 : At Rs. 6 a night, Delhi's night shelters probably offer the cheapest accommodation in town. So even those who can afford better are opting for it - leaving the homeless and needy scurrying for space and shelter in the cruel cold.

Devendra Jindal, who hails from Haryana and works as an agent in an insurance company here, said despite being able to afford a better place, he spends the night at a Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD)-run night shelter in south Delhi because it comes much cheaper.

"Why should I leave this place when I can stay here for a paltry Rs. 6 per night? I won't move from this place until I am forced to," Jindal told IANS.

Similarly, Ramesh Singh, 45, who runs a food stall in Nehru Place and does good business, also stays in one of the night shelters in the city.

"I have a food stall near Nehru Place that does pretty brisk business. I make a profit of about Rs. 300 a day. But I have been staying in the night shelter near the Old Delhi railway station for the last two years to save money and send some to my family back in Bihar," Singh said.

According to Sanjay Kumar of the Ashraya Adhikar Abhiyan (AAA) under ActionAid India, which works for the homeless, the city has more than 100,000 people living on the roads. However, only a small portion of that population finds a place in the night shelters.

"While the total number of homeless people in Delhi is around 140,000, only about five to seven percent of them manage to find accommodation in the night shelters," Kumar told IANS.

The MCD has set up 25 night shelters across the city of which two are for women and children. Most of these shelters are in the busy areas of the capital like market places and near railway stations. The functioning of 15 of these shelters which offer accommodation at Rs. 6 a night are taken care of by the AAA.

According to Praveen, a caretaker at the night shelter near the Old Delhi railway station, despite knowing that a number of people who live in the shelter can afford their own arrangement, there is little that he can do to bar them from staying there.

"There is very little that I can do to stop some people from staying in the night shelter. I am bound to let in any homeless person who comes and seeks refuge. I have no basis to refuse refuge to anyone," Praveen said.

Also a number of homeless people lament that they are never allowed in these shelters because of limited availability of space.

Sarvesh Prasad, who is physically challenged and begs outside the railway station, said: "Lack of space in these shelters is a big problem. Sometimes I do manage to find a place but most of the time I am left gasping for space."

Anita Murmu, a rag picker who struggles every day to find some space in these shelters, added: "Nobody cares for poor people. These night shelters are no exception."

Kumar said: "We try our best to ensure that only the genuinely needy people stay in the shelter. But unfortunately there is hardly any way by which we can refuse refuge to someone." (IANS)