Target set: After cleanest city, admin plans to make Indore free of beggars
BHOPAL: Having already attained the tag of being the cleanest city in the country for seven years in a row, Indore has now decided to become a ‘beggar free city.’
In the multi-phase campaign to make Indore (Madhya Pradesh’s most populated city and considered state’s commercial capital) beggar free, the district administration has set a deadline of 15 days, to first make the city free of children indulgent in begging at road crossings and other prominent places. Indore’s new district collector Ashish Singh chaired a meeting on Thursday with social organisations and NGOs already working for eradication of begging in the city.
“The discussions at the meeting revealed that around 7,000 people (half of them being children) are indulging in begging. We will address the issue from now on in a targeted manner,” Singh said. Knowing well that making Indore begging free at one go is not attainable; a multi-phase plan is being devised, he said.“We will start by targeting the children and mentally and physically challenged people who are engaged in the activity. A target of 15 days has been fixed to rescue all such children,” Singh added.
Attempts will be made to track such children, rescue them and enroll them into education. Proper counseling of parents of such children too will be done, as many of those children are pushed into begging by their parents and families for multiple reasons.
The help of the child helpline of the women and child development department, social justice department will be taken by the CEO Indore Smart City, who was the nodal officer of the recent meeting.
“We will also work on mentally and physically challenged people who are into begging. They will be rehabilitated by increasing the number of dedicated facilities meant for them in the city,” Singh maintained.
In the subsequent phases, other beggars will be targeted. The action plan will also include crackdown against those people who are running begging rackets on contract basis.
Attempts to track, rescue children
Attempts will be made to track, rescue and enroll the children into education. Proper counseling of parents will be conducted, as many of these children are pushed into begging by their parents for many reasons.