HYDERABAD: By feigning a smile on their faces, which is filled with fear and anxiety, sixteen children out of twenty four attentively attended the counselling session organised for their rehabilitation. They were rescued from various traffic junctions of twin cities including Masab Tank, Boduppal, Ameerpet and Khairathabad, by GHMC officials.
As part of the first drive held by GHMC for a ‘Beggar free Hyderabad,’ first batch of street children were sensitised on the evil of begging. With many more drives to follow, TNIE tried to analyse the conditions which lead the children to beg.
Nine-year-old Dheeraj (name changed) of Madhya Pradesh, who is one of the child beggars at Khairathabad junction confessed that he was encouraged by his parents to beg as theirs was a big family. “I sell toys like fidget spinners and cars for `50 a piece, besides begging along with my parents, two sisters and five brothers. We have come to make money here,” he told Express.
Many like him, both boys and girls below the age of thirteen years, have fallen for parental pressure to earn money for their livelihood for at least two years and barring a few, almost all have an Aadhar card and hail from places like Gulbarga, Madhya Pradesh, Hyderabad and few other districts of Telangana.
“My mother does not listen to me. As our father expired, she takes it as a reason and begs at Masab Tank junction along with my brother aged three and sister aged seven for livelihood,” said Habeeb, brother of the children rescued. While sixteen of the twenty four were rescued and counselled, the rest eight were handed back to their parents after a strict assurance was taken by officials that the children would not be motivated to beg again. “Parents of the eight children pleaded us to leave them and assured that they would not be seen at the junctions again,” said G Shankar, founder of Amma Nanna Annada Ashramam (ANAA).
“A child will learn if they are made to learn. They will resort to begging if they are made to. The innocence of these children are being exploited by their parents to make quick money,” observed K Shekar, in charge of ANAA, who is closely counselling and taking care of the children.
Meanwhile, GHMC additional commissioner, V Bhaskara Chary, said the drive was a success as the corporation was able to educate children.
“We are going to give children back to their parents this week for reintegration and see how they behave. We will conduct more such drives in the city and make the city beggar free,” he added.