HYDERABAD: Telangana Prison campuses will now house destitute people too. Authorities are planning to enrol them after collecting their photographs and biometric details in order to maintain a directory.
In a new initiative to differentiate genuine beggars from ‘mafia’ and initiate legal action against the latter, Telangana Prisons department, in association with Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, Hyderabad police and an NGO, has started shifting beggars on the streets to the renovated shelter homes — Anand Ashram — at the two city prison campuses.
The department intends to identify 350 male and 150 female beggars from across the city, to be accommodated at its Chanchalguda and Cherlapally campuses. They would be provided with clothing, toiletries and food requirements during their stay, said VK Singh, director general of Prisons and Correctional Services. Following this, officials plan to initiate action against professional beggars, who are allegedly backed by mafia, in accordance with the Prevention of Begging Act which says: “it shall be an offence punishable under this act if any person is found begging in a public place.”
Singh felt that police could not act till date because of inability to differentiate mafia from genuinely destitute people. “But now since the genuine ones would be identified, police can act on the rest.”
An exclusive prisons officer on with the special charge of ‘Superintendent for Special Home’ would be alloted for the initiative. “We are not considering the destitute as regular inmates and for that reason, we have a superintendent for special homes who will be overseeing the initiative. And, with our new sensitisation program of following the UN Standard Rules for Treatment of Prisoners, we will take all precautions,” said VK Singh.
Curbing mafia among destitutes a huge problem
While estimates from an NGO suggest that there are about 14,000 beggars in the city, the Prison officials said that there are about 5,000 destitute people who have to be rehabilitated.“The professionals hire babies for `300 and make about `600 - `800 a day. This mafia is still prevalent and some persons even fake bruises on their hands to act injured,” observed Gattu Shankar, Founder, ANAA.