Sir,
Beggary in Jammu is assuming alarming proportions day by day. Two places of religious worship Apna Vihar temple and Kunju Baba in Kunjwani are home to a large number of beggars, some old,some young, some able bodied some differently abled all within a pathetic state with a pleading look. It is all the more painful to see them sleeping in the open in the verandah of an abandoned building.
Beggary is a social problem of huge magnitude and a serious social concern.In Jammu , the City of Temples they can be seen practically outside all temples as also near some commercial complexes.
One often hears that begging is a huge racket. Infact there exist begging cartels in major metropolitan cities, sharing the day’s earnings among them.It is very difficult to find out who the leader of the cartel is and who are real beggars and who are not as looks are deceptive and with their pathetic appearance and pleading looks they all look like real beggars.
Providing basic needs like food and shelter to the citizens is the job of the Government and should be its priority and when the government fails to do it begging is bound to increase.Infact Article 46 of the constitution mandates the state to promote the economic interest of the weaker sections of the society and protect them from social injustice as well as any other form of exploitation.
Article 46 coupled with Article 21 which promises right to a dignified life make it obligatory for the state machinery to work towards ensuring a socially and economically just life to all.Our constitutional framework guarantees not only protection to all but also work towards common good of all citizens.
Unfortunately there is no common law in India which penalizes begging,which is absolutely essential to make the begging mafia defunct particularly when there are several lakhs of children involved in begging while no one knows how many of them were abducted and made to beg at places away from their home locations.
Since it is the state whose responsibility it is to provide a dignified life to the citizens as also to ensure that such cartels encouraging begging are dealt with sternly ,I would recommend the Government of the UT to initiate the following actions to eradicate this social evil as well as neutralize the begging cartels :-
* Make a shelter where all homeless beggars are moved to stay instead of braving the vagaries of weather in the open.The police as well as social charitable organisations be tasked to ensure that anyone seen begging is taken away to these shelters.
* Government as well as charitable organizations must provide food, clothing and medical aid at these shelters.
* Children be enrolled in Government schools as well as private schools and the corporates to finance their education as part of corporate social responsibility.
* All adults be provided skill based training and made to earn their living.
Once the actions mentioned above are initiated the begging cartels will be finished as they will realize the futility of abuducting children and making them beg.
Col Vikram Bhasin
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