Bhopal: On Thursday, Madhya Pradesh’s Women and Child Development Department claimed to have rescued a woman beggar near a temple in Indore with more than Rs 75 000 in cash.

The administration claimed that the woman, who has been shifted to a rescue centre run by the Women and Child Development Department, has confessed to earning money within one month from begging in the area.

The Project Officer of the Child Development Department in Indore city, Dinesh Mishra, said, “During the interrogation, the woman said she had earned this money in the past month. She has been involved in begging for the last several years.”

The state government has revived the beggar-free campaign, which was initially planned for September 2023 by the then Indore District Collector Ilayaraja T.

Ilayaraja T is now serving as the Additional Secretary of the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Department, while new Indore District Collector Ashish Singh has initiated the scheme’s implementation.

The district administration has said that the campaign has been launched so that the children and women engaged in begging at crossroads could be rescued.

An official said that a committee under the supervision of the Indore District administration, along with the concerned departments, must identify sectors (hotspots) where disguised begging occurs.

The rescued child labourers cum beggars are being given proper counselling followed by education and training so that they are properly rehabilitated and do not go back on the streets.

“Rescued persons are counselled in three phases, and if they are still found on the streets, then there is also a legal action procedure against them,” Dinesh Mishra said.

Indore district administration has deployed a dedicated team to look after the issue, along with the other departments, to introduce a grassroots campaign for this purpose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

–IANS
Photo: Representational