KMC to set up more night shelters

Kolkata, Jan 4: To accommodate people who come to Kolkata for various purposes but are too poor to put up in hotels or hire a place to stay, many of whom come to earn a living, and some for purposes like medical treatment as well as vagabonds and pavement and slum dwellers, the West Bengal Government and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) run night shelters.

Now, KMC has decided to build more such shelters. So the civic body is holding talks with various government organisations like Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA), Kolkata Improvement Trust (KIT), Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners (HRBC), Port Trust and the Railways to request them to hand over some of the extra vacant land plots they have. 
It is already preparing a detailed project report (DPR) to set up a night shelter on Mahatma Gandhi Road in ward 122.
At present, Kolkata has 40 night shelters, of which 35 have been set up by the State Government and five by the KMC. These five are located in Chetla, Bhowanipore, Galiff Street, Gauribari Lane and Raja Manindra Road, and can accommodate around 2,500 people on a daily basis. UNI