A non-government organisation member at the meet in Patna on Monday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, Dec. 26: Two core committees were formed today to ensure shelters for the homeless and children in the capital in response to initiatives taken by the state.

State government officials and members of the office of the state adviser to the commissioners of the Supreme Court carried out a joint inspection in the state capital on December 15. The inspection, meant to ascertain the facilities available for the homeless, found that there were only 24 shelters. Of these, though 21 were permanent, none had any basic facility.

The office of the state adviser to the commissioners of the Supreme Court and various non-government organisations (NGOs) today held a consultation, “Urban homeless population and deprived children in Bihar: Initiatives of state government and local organisations”, at AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies.

The state adviser to the commissioner of the Supreme Court, Rupesh, said ranbaseras in the state capital have been converted into shelters but they lack proper facilities. He said: “The shelters for the homeless lack the basic amenities. The Supreme Court has said there should be a shelter each for a population of one lakh in towns. All organisations should work toward the same. The state government should be assisted in arriving at the exact population of the homeless.”

The members of the different NGOs present at the consultation decided warm clothes would be distributed among the homeless in Patna. Apart from the two core committees (comprising NGO members) formed today to identify the homeless and provide them and children shelters, a network of different organisations — Begharon ke Saathi and Bachchon ke Saathi — was also formed.

A training programme would also be organised for the core committee members and volunteers in the first week of January, after which another survey on the homeless in Patna, would be conducted.