Cold-hearted

As the thick fog rolled in and winter tightened its stranglehold, Delhiites were shivering in their homes, reaching out for heaters and quilts to keep warm.

However, what sent a real shiver down my spine was the cold and callous manner in which the civic authorities razed a night shelter that was providing respite to some freezing homeless families in India's capital, without making any alternative arrangements. Reports say the night shelter was razed as part of the effort to `beautify' the city before it opened its arms to the Commonwealth Games and showcased itself as `clean and green'.

Thankfully, the court stepped in and admonished the authorities for making the homeless sleep under the bitter cold sky and asked them to make some arrangement.

Then, as the authorities put up temporary tents, there appeared an angel! St Michael's School, run by the Delhi Catholic Archdiocese, opened its classrooms for the homeless till 6 am in the morning, when it's time for the school to open. The school said it would also provide blankets.

Our country has so many temples, mosques, gurudwaras, churches and so on, as also schools that are closed at night. Why can't any of these think of opening their doors to the homeless for the night, at least in extreme weather conditions?
It is criminal that so much of covered space lies unoccupied at night, while people keep dying every year due to exposure to cold and heat.
Some may say that it's the government's task to provide shelter to its people. True. But, wouldn't religious and charitable institutions be serving the people better if they too thought the same way as St Michael's School did? Alas, there are more people in this world to take care of God, rather than God's own children -- the less fortunate.