The only shelter home for beggars in Madhya Pradesh had once set the agenda to make Indore city ‘beggar-free’, however, the negligent and rash behaviour of the concerned authorities has brought the shelter home failing to curb ‘begging menace’.
The dilapidated facility at the beggar’s shelters home has seen no footfall of beggars. Social Justice, Women and Child Welfare; and Women Empowerment– the two concerned departments were responsible for identifying the number of people engaged in begging, register them, provide rehabilitation facility and vocational training so that the beggars could lead a quality life.
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However, the lack of coordination on part of departments has led to the opposite of what was expected. There has been a rise in the number of beggars in the city. Religious places, tourist spots and main squares are heavily seen with the group of people begging.
“The centre, which comes under Social Justice Department, has staff of eight persons only. Due to staff crunch it gets difficult to catch those involved in begging practice,” told superintendent Mishra.
“The centre gets only Rs 2 lakh per year. Food, accommodation and vocational training has to be managed within the same amount,” Mishra added.
As per the records, no beggar was lodged under the beggar shelter home this year despite that fact that it has the capacity to accommodate 25 (only male).
