Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Once, giving alms was considered a virtue but now after making Indore a Clean City, the Indore Municipal Corporation is now heading toward making Indore a Beggar Free city.
The corporation has planned to initiate a campaign to stop people from giving alms to beggars. They will also start teaching beggars some skills to make them employable.
Municipal commissioner Pratibha Pal took a review meeting in this regard on Saturday.
She instructed officials to collect data on the number of beggars rescued every seven days. She said places where beggars usually come should be identified. She said to stop begging a campaign should be launched to discourage people from giving alms. She said that appeals should be made to religious leaders, senior citizens, and public representatives in this direction.
During the review meeting, Rupali Jain from an NGO informed the commissioner that 54 beggars have been rehabilitated in the Rehabilitation and Skill Development Center located at Pardeshipura, out of which 6 are women. In the past, 59 beggars were rescued from different places and sent to Banganga Mental Hospital for treatment, out of which 38 people have been cured and handed over to their families and 21 are being treated in mental hospital.
Similarly, 18 beggars were treated at Aurobindo Hospital due to their poor health, out of which 16 are being treated as destitute and are living at the beggar rehabilitation centre.
Free training to Beggars
IMC will give free training to the beggars at the beggar rehabilitation centre so that they can get employment and stop begging. To start employment after training, loan given to street vendors would be offered to them. So have three such beggars have been given loans.
Central Government Beggar Free City Initiative
It may be noted that Indore was also included in the pilot project started by the Government of India, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, New Delhi in view to make 10 cities of the country beggar-free. A nodal agency has been appointed for the rehabilitation of the beggars. A centre was inaugurated on March 1, 2022 - Rehabilitation and Skill Development Center - in the Social Justice Department premises at Pardeshipura.
