THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The inmates of the beggar rehabilitation centre of the City Corporation will be waking up to new comforts soon. The newly-constructed centre at Kalladimukham which has been set up for the welfare of the beggars is set to be opened by the end of this month. The plan to revive the centre had met with several hurdles ever since its conceptualisation in 2009.
The new building is coming up not only to facilitate rehabilitation of beggars, but to house the abandoned elderly found in public places as well. The home is part of the Basic Services for Urban Poor (BSUP) project.
“Different buildings have been constructed for the rehabilitation of beggars and the elderly with dormitories and rooms. Both of them are worth Rs 47 lakh. While admitting new inmates, those staying at the present beggar rehabilitation centre will be shifted here,” said Welfare Standing Committee chairman Palayam Rajan. The beggar rehabilitation centre currently houses 48 inmates. Meeting the expenses of the rehabilitation centre had often been a challenge for the civic body.
At both these centres, 106 persons (64+ 42) can be accommodated at a time. This project was included for the first time in the Corporation budget for 2008-09 fiscal. The project did not attract any contractors and the estimate had to be revised later. Earlier, there were also plans to impart vocational training to the inmates, but owing to age and health conditions, the plan was dropped. Facilities will be arranged for accommodating men and women separately.
While the buildings are ready, the Corporation is currently on the lookout for generous hands who can contribute to facilitate the infrastructure such as cots, beds, pillows, cooking utensils and so on.