The number of homeless individuals in the city has crossed 13,000, with the Central Business District of George Town in Royapuram Zone of the Chennai Corporation accounting for the most number of homeless people.
The Chennai Corporation conducted a survey of the homeless in January, and found an increase in the number of persons without decent housing, when compared to the previous surveys that reported around 11,000 homeless individuals in the city.
This has been attributed to an increasing number of people migrating from other districts and States in search of economic opportunities over the past few years.
The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) found that the number of homeless individuals, which was 9623 by mid-February, had crossed 13,000 by the end of the survey in May.
Ward 57 Councillor Rajesh Jain said: “People from States such as Andhra Pradesh and Bihar have come to my ward in Royapuram zone in search of jobs, and some of them have been homeless. The number of homeless women is higher than that of men in several parts of my ward. Many people have come to Chennai in search of jobs from other districts also.”
