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Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Tall claims of city custodians to transform Indore into a 'beggar-free' city seem to be a distant dream. The district administration, Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) and the Women and Child Development Department have yet again taken up the task of making the city beggar-free a couple of months ago. However, the efforts to get rid of beggars are not new and are continuing for the last four years.
After attaining the tag of being the cleanest city in the country for seven years in a row, Indore decided to become a beggar-free city back in 2020. The pilot project which was begun by the administration in 2020, embarking on a mission that promised to redefine the city’s image, under the SMILE (Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise) project, aims to rehabilitate the beggars.
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The administration has taken a pledge a month ago to again make the city beggar-free within one month but the efforts proved insufficient. Surprisingly, the number of beggars in the last four years has increased. “Around 8,000 beggars can be found roaming on prominent squares and different places. The number of these beggars are collected through a survey conducted manually and through the geotagging system, it includes all categories right from children to old age people,” said Rupali Jain from Sanstha Pravesh and a coordinator in Smile Project.
Geotagging tells the longitude of a beggar roaming the city – it needs basic details of the person and in the absence of such details their picture is being uploaded on the application of IMC to track them. According to Rupali Jain - the administration is working on the project making a concrete plan which involves categorising beggars by age and gender such as child beggars, elderly individuals, women and men, and then focusing on rescuing and rehabilitating each group in a systematic manner.
Talking about the categories of beggars she said that among these 8,000 beggars, most of them are old age people. The percentage of male beggars is more than females in this category. Around 2,000 are children and the rest are young beggars. She further added among these 8,000 – 80 % are habitual beggars, who have a home but still roam here and there. The remaining 20% are those who either have some health issues or are mentally unstable and thus unable to earn their livelihood. Our target is to rehabilitate each one of them.
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Four steps involved in rehabilitation of beggars: The administration has put in place a procedure for rehabilitation of beggars under the beggar-free city initiative:
* Survey and Identification
* Rescue
* Comprehensive Resettlement
* Rehabilitation
Failed initiative
A multi-phase initiative taken in February 2024 to make the city free of child beggars failed. Under the multi-phase campaign to make Indore beggar-free, the district administration had set a deadline of 15 days, to make the city free of such children who beg at road crossings and other prominent places. Still the city has 2,000 children roaming and begging on the streets.
“We are aiming to rescue, rehabilitate and give these people a good life and thus we will make Indore a beggar-free city.” Pushyamitra Bhargav Mayor “We don’t have a proper place to keep the rescued beggars, except the child beggars. We just have one shelter home at Pardesipura having a capacity of just 100 people and send the elderly to an ashram in Ujjain. People’s support is important as they should stop giving them money and freebies”
-Ramniwas Budholiya District programme officer, WCD Department
Citizenspeak
The problem rears its head when citizens come face to face with beggars on city roads. The citizens continue to encounter beggars on every prominent square of the city.
"The beggars unnecessarily pour water on car windshields and ask for money. The problem is worse with cars that have automatic sensors, as they pour dirty water on the windshield which damages the sensors. A few days ago, a beggar damaged my rear-view mirror during one such cleaning incident at Lantern Square. I even offered a beggar a job, but he refused, saying he can earn more without doing any work."
-Pankaj Kasliwal Businessman
"I have encountered child beggars many times near restaurants and cafes in Scheme Number 140. They ask for food and money. Even the restaurant owners seem to encourage begging, as they don't ask them to move or complain about them. In my opinion, one reason for this could be that the beggars help increase their earnings."
-Ajay Kumawat Buinessman
"The beggars at Palasia Square are very disruptive. They pour dirty water on car windshields and demand money, often banging on the car bonnet. They ask for money and are seen consuming drugs in nearby areas."
-Manju Soni Home Maker
"The beggars on the streets are irritating, often banging on car windows for money. In my view, as the city is growing, the administration should take measures to provide them with employment."
-Shikha Jain Entrepreneur
