Kullu: Stop making your children beg, migrants told as 20 kids rescued

Abhinav Vashisht

Kullu, May 12

Cracking the whip, a team of the district Child Welfare Committee and Child Helpline took action against the practice of migrants’ children begging and selling items such as balloons on the Mall road in Manali recently.

About 20 children were rescued and their family members were summoned and given strict instructions not to make their children work.

Most of these children do not even have Aadhaar cards or other identity cards. Child Welfare Committee Chairman Ved Ram Thakur said the parents were warned not to make their kids sell goods or beg at the Mall road in future, or the children would be sent to welfare shelters.

Many migrants have camped in Manali for the tourist season. Some of them are working as masseurs on the Mall road.

Manali Municipal Council (MC) president Chaman Kapoor said masseurs had been warned in the past not to carry out their businesses in the open, as it was not a pleasing sight to witness people lying half-naked at public places. He said beggars troubled visitors, and the MC was monitoring the area in this regard regularly.

Hem Raj Sharma, an entrepreneur from Manali, said, “The authorities concerned should crack down on those engaged in illegal businesses in Manali as the city witnesses a considerable tourist footfall. Migrants dupe visitors by selling ‘Chhingu’ (a type of fabric), terming it as ‘Chidiya’. Many are selling duplicate ‘kesar’ and ‘shilajit’. Some were also engaged in business of low quality dry fruits. The sale of unhygienic ‘gulab jamuns’ on the streets should also be banned.”

Such acts should not be allowed, he added.

Sharma alleged that the migrants were also engaging in peddling drugs and flesh trade. The practice of tourist guides cheating visitors should also be checked, he added. He also objected to an eatery selling non-vegetarian food adjacent to a temple on the Mall.

Buses and tempo travellers should not be allowed on the narrow Hadimba temple road during peak hours to prevent traffic jams, he said, adding that the illegal street vendors on the footpaths should also be removed on priority.