Navhind Times | 1 week ago | 10-05-2022 | 02:22 am
He says no Goan begs in the statePanaji: Minister for Social Welfare Subhash Phaldesai on Monday said that no Goan person begs in the state, and that there can be no scheme for beggars from the government side.“Every Goan is a self-respecting citizen and will never resort to begging,” Phaldesai observed, adding that those begging in Goa are from outside the state. He also admitted that the number of beggars in Goa have increased over the years.Reacting to the concern expressed by the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP), during the recent meeting of its councillors, as regards the increasing number of beggars in the capital city, Phaldesai said that there can be no government scheme for beggars.“The government does not support begging and wants to alleviate poverty,” the Minister for Social Welfare said, pointing out that if there is any needy, old person in the state then there are institutions like Provedoria or old-age homes run by missionary organisations for such person. “We just cannot prepare schemes for beggars,” he maintained.On a parting note, Phaldesai lamented that the department of social welfare has no data about beggars in the state. Meanwhile, former city mayor and present city councillor Uday Madkaikar said that he had raised the issue of beggars during the recent meeting of the city councillors.“In the past, there were no beggars in the city, however their number now seems to be on the rise,” he maintained adding that these beggars seem to belong to a gang run by some person.Speaking further, Madkaikar said that these beggars, which include women with infants, are brought to the city in the early morning and then taken back late evening.“The government needs to find out about the origin of these beggars,” he demanded.Madkaikar also alleged that the beggars are involved in drugs trade and during his tenure as the city mayor; he had raided the beggars in the Campal area to find ATM card, bank pass book, cheque books and 10 to 12 mobiles with them.“As of today, these beggars have become menace for the city and are found in areas like Church Square, 18th June Road and so on,” he pointed out.Meanwhile, the CCP is in the process of setting up an internal squad to evict beggars.It may be recalled that the then chief minister Manohar Parrikar, in 2017 had admitted to rise in the number of beggars in the Goan towns, and further proposed to make the state beggar-free by establishing a full-fledged rehabilitation centre for them. The then tourism minister Manohar ‘Babu’ Ajgaonkar on the other hand had stated that the beggars will be stopped from begging in public places.A proposal by the Provedoria, the Institute of Public Assistance had some years ago recommended setting up a remand home for beggars to combat the beggar menace in Goa.According to information received from the Goa police, around 150 to 200 beggars are detained every year but with no facility in place, they are immediately released by the court.
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