Amitabh Shukla
New Delhi, February 3
The Delhi government has thrown up its hands in despair in its bid to check the rising number of beggars on the streets of the city before the Commonwealth Games, 2010.
Much to its horror, it has realized that it can effectively house only 2180 beggars in all its 11 rehabilitation homes while the number of beggars is close to 75,000 in the Capital. What gives it a twist is that the department has not been able to arrest the beggars as only 1340 of them are lodged in these homes at present, much below the capacity.
The facts came out in an internal meeting of the Social Welfare Department which was chaired by Social Welfare Minister Yoganand Shastri. The Social Defence Section of the department made a presentation on the rehabilitation of the beggars but found that it cannot do so given its own inherent limitations.
Shastri said: “This is a social problem all over the country and is not limited to Delhi alone. We have plan in place to rehabilitate the beggars by teaching them skills like weaving, carpentry, printing, cycle repairing, tailoring, etc. It seems we need to do more”.
The presentation also pointed out that though begging is a cognizable offence under the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959 as applicable to Delhi, the arrests are not serving the purpose of checking beggary. The department intensified its drive in 2007 and arrested 2537 beggars and produced them in court. Those who were “proved to be beggars” were remanded to the rehabilitation homes but were back in business the very next day of their release. In January this year, the department arrested 493 beggars of whom 423 were released by court.
The department has identified 4 problem areas in solving the beggary menace – witnesses not coming forward for evidence against beggars in court, physical resistance from beggars at the time of arrest, sympathy of public for beggars and encouragement by the society due to religious beliefs.
To meet the challenge thrown by the beggary menace, the department has drawn up a five pronged action plan – installation of biometric identification system, setting up of mobile courts, use of cameras for evidence and augmentation of raids. The officials also plan to organize meetings with religious organizations for curbing the menace.
“We hope to control the number of beggars with these steps,” said Shastri, adding, “the society too has to play a role in making Delhi a beggar free Capital”. BOX:
Findings of the Department of Social Work, Delhi University, after a survey and detailed interview of 5003 beggars in 2007. - 29.52 are below 18 years of age
- 69.94 percent are male and 35.06 percent females
- In percentage terms, Hindus comprise 76.26, Muslims 22.63, Christian 0.59 and Sikhs 0.48
- Above 18 years, the able bodied are 66.37 percent while the disabled 33.63 percent
- A whopping 80.65 percent were illiterate and the remaining were literate.
- Of the 3526 adult beggars surveyed and interviewed, 2633 did it because of unemployment while for 863, it was a family profession. Of these, 22 were forced by someone else while 8 were working for an organized gang.
- Of the 1477 child beggars, a majority of 818 did it for food and clothes, 102 due to family profession, 222 for money and 3 for drugs. Another 332 did it for various reasons like sister’s marriage, medical help, not interested in studies, forced by someone, enjoyment or for purchasing drugs and alcohol.
(2008)
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