manish kumar, post news network, Bhubaneswar, May 16: It has been nearly seven decades since Independence, but the country has not yet been able to rid itself of the scourge of begging. What is more disturbing is the sight of children begging for either food or money.
They are all over the city. One can find them in front of popular malls and marketplaces, local tea or cigarette shops, parks and amusement centres, at railway stations and near the temples. The nearly 17,965 kids, below the age of 14 in the state, who beg for a living, as per the 2011 census data, seem to be the children of a lesser god.
This figure, seen in context of the Article 21A of the Indian constitution that reads, “Right to education —The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine,” appears to be more alarming. Herein comes the role the common people, especially the youth of the city, which they can play to alleviate the plight of the children, who are, for economic and social reasons, forced to beg.
Youths of this city are in fact not unaware of the problem. Some, in their individual capacities, have formed groups and work among the underprivileged children of the city, in a bid to help them lead a better life.
“Begging is an omnipresent problem across the country. But I believe the intervention of youths and students from the society can help in reducing it, if not completely eradicating the problem. Educated youths should try their best to go to the slums and other areas of the city where poor and underprivileged children of the society live and teach them voluntarily so that they can help those children in getting rid of begging and related habits and can ensure a better future for them,” said Amit Kumar, a 4th Year engineering student from the KIIT. Amit and his friends often organise street plays in slum areas to create awareness among people living there about child rights and other issues.
Efforts like these become a necessity in view of the fact that a significant portion of the children begging on the streets of the city are girls, who are exposed to other kinds of ‘threats’.
The 2011 census figures show that while among non-workers, children (beggars and vagrants below the age of 14) who have not worked at all during the last one year, 7,456 are girls, 9218 are boys. Among marginal workers, children (beggars and vagrants in the age group of 5–14 years) who have worked for less than 6 months during the last one year, while 528 are girls, 763 are boys.
The data also indicate the rampant presence of child labours.
“Poverty is the main reason for these problems. As we address poverty, we do not look into various other issues. Only providing rice for Re 1 per kg or a meal for Rs5 will not solve the problem. What is needed is the opportunity to earn and lead a dignified life,” said Ghasiram Panda, programme manager of the NGO ActionAid.
“We need to raise awareness among the common people and drive home the point that sympathy is not the solution. Rather, we should ensure that the children are not deprived of their rights,” said Panda.
“We find child beggars more in the urban areas. There is a need to measure the vulnerability quotient and the urban bodies should take up this responsibility. CCTVs can be used to identify, rescue and rehabilitate child beggars,” he said.
“To combat the problem related to children begging for a living, the government and the NGOs need to make concerted efforts. The police, the juvenile justice system, institutions such as Childline and other childcare institutions should get together and come up with an effective strategy,” said Benudhar Senapati, the programme manager of the NGO, Childline.
“Every family needs to have a proper place to stay. The district administration should provide a small plot of land to families of these children who are landless and help them construct a house under the IAY scheme,” said Senapati while trying to suggest a long-lasting solution to this social and economic problem plaguing the society.
Talking to the Orissa POST, Namrata Chadda, member, Juvenile Justice Board said, “Begging is a more complex issue than it appears. A lot of things are responsible for it. Although it has not been legalised it has not been considered as an offence either. Religious beliefs are also a prominent reason. Almost all religions encourage giving alms to beggars near their places of worship. I believe all departments of the government need to work in sync to weed out the problem.”
