Homeless in cold Delhi

Sant Ram Baba (48), a rickshaw puller from Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, has been living in Delhi for nearly 20 years now. He lost his home 12 years ago when the government demolished the slums in east Delhi’s Kalyanpuri. Since then he has been living without a home of his ownPhoto: Vikas Choudhary

Savita who hails from Madhubani in Bihar is married to a blind man. A few days after Savita got the permit to set up a temporary shop on a pavement near ISBT in New Delhi’s Sarai Kale Khan, her daughter was mowed down by a bus near the shopPhoto: Vikas Choudhary

Kuljeet and Roshni, like three or four previous generations from their family, come to from Jaipur to Delhi for six to seven months in a year. During this time, they sell incense, toys or other goods at traffic lights and go back to spend rest of the months in Rajasthan where they own a house Photo: Vikas Choudhary

Twenty-three-year-old Jaiprakash, from Badaun in Uttar Pradesh, works as a helper with a man who owns a food cart and sells tea and other eatables in front AIIMS. Jaiprakash, who will soon become a father, earns Rs 5,000-6,000 a month Photo: Vikas Choudhary

Puran Chand Bist (45) from Uttarakhand has been working here for the past 21 years. A homeless man in Delhi, Puran has worked as a driver and a labourer with caterers and bakers. He is also a victim of the Uttarakhand floods of 2013Photo: Vikas Choudhary

M D Rihan (35), born in Delhi, works as a barber and owns a shop that is located opposite to AIIMS. Despite earning sufficient money, Rihan sleeps in the open in front of his shop and says he is happy to do so. He does not want a shelterPhoto: Vikas Choudhary

Jaikumar Yadav (26) who comes from Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh has been a wage employee with caterers for seven to eight years now. He says that during a few wedding seasons, he is fortunate enough to earn up to Rs 15,000 in a month Photo: Vikas Choudhary

While temperatures in Delhi continue to plummet, these pictures bring out the plight of a few who are homeless. Though the Delhi government claims to have set up 257 night shelters, the facilities are hardly sufficient for the city’s more than a lakh homeless people Photo: Vikas Choudhary

Umesh Sahni (42) from Begusarai in Bihar is a father of two and a rickshaw puller whose rickshaw was stolen a few years ago. Though he earns nearly Rs 10,000 in a month by pulling a school rickshaw, he does not have a place to live inPhoto: Vikas Choudhary