Despite harsh winter, homeless people prefer to stay on roads rather than shelters

Charanjit Singh Teja

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Amritsar, January 27

Being a religious city and offering of quality food by devotees attract a large number of migrants from different parts of the country. It is observed that very few poor people either from the city or from nearby villages stay outside in these days of harsh winter. Most of poor people often stay at local gurdwaras where they get shelter and food.

Those staying at night shelter and Raen Basera, being run by the local administration, are people from other states. A local traffic police personnel stated that groups of beggars and homeless people visit the city for a short span and then move somewhere. Then some other group comes and start begging. Most of them raise shanties on the roadside where all kinds of daily-use items are stored by them. They are not solely dependent on begging as they sometimes sell small usable items and clean cars in lieu of cash.

“Despite the fact that the Centre and the state government have provided them various facilities to stay safe in harsh winter, they adopt beggary as a profession,” said the cop.

Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori recently launched a beggary prevention and rehabilitation programme umbrella scheme “SMILE – Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprises”. The programme includes sub-scheme — ‘Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation of persons engaged in the act of Begging’.

The district administration has received a grant from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, to run the scheme.

Assistant Commissioner Vivek Kumar Modi held a meeting under the SMILE scheme for the rehabilitation of beggars. A meeting was attended by officials of the police department, Health Department, municipal corporation, Education Department, district child protection unit.

Assistant Commissioner Vivek Kumar Modi said the rehabilitation programme of beggars would be started in three phases. In the first phase, three teams will be formed to survey beggars at 15 places in the city. In the second phase, beggars will be mobilized and sent to the shelter home, run by the Amritsar Municipal Corporation at Gol Bagh, where basic living facilities will be provided to them. They will be rehabilitated in the third phase. He said if any beggar needs skill training, it will also be provided.