DRAW A FIVE-YEAR ROAD MAP TO END THE MENACE

Of course we have the Haryana Prevention of Beggary Act 1971 to nab the beggars and put them behind bars, but that is not the answer. If anyone has to be imprisoned it’s the begging mafia, the kingpins profiteering from this business and not the old woman knocking at your car window. We have to view and tackle beggary as a social problem. People take to begging out of poverty and helplessness. They need rehabilitation. It is true many of them get used to the free life and try to resist being mainstreamed, but then the UT authorities and the municipal corporation has to prevail. A road map has to be drawn to remove beggars from the streets in the next five years. First, an account should be taken of total number of beggars, by categories (men, women, children, sick, elderly etc), and the yearly increase in their numbers. Then, an assessment needs to be made for providing them shelters and jobs. They are our human resource. Some work, based on their skills, should be given to them, and children should be sent to schools. These people have to regain their self esteem, and realise their worth.

Col RD Singh (retd), Ambala