VIJAY, A 42-YEAR-OLD labourer from Saharanpur, misplaced each legs round eight years in the past whereas making an attempt to board a shifting practice in Meerut. Missing different expertise to help his household of 4, he turned to begging to make ends meet. His spouse, Seema, was pregnant on the time of the accident.
A couple of months later, Vijay introduced his household to Lucknow, settling close to the Charbagh railway station. He cites two primary causes for the relocation: First, to flee the “social stigma” he confronted and second, as a result of begging in Lucknow is “extra profitable than in different cities throughout the state.” Folks in Lucknow have a better spending capability in comparison with residents of different districts in UP, Vijay identified.
He additionally claimed that he would give up begging solely after the state authorities supplies him with a “correct home and work that he’s able to doing.”
Vijay shared these particulars with a joint workforce from the Lucknow district administration, which is gathering complete details about beggars. The survey, launched underneath the directives of Lucknow’s Divisional Commissioner Roshan Jacob, goals at figuring out and amassing knowledge on beggars to evaluate which authorities amenities they aren’t having access to.
A 15-day pilot venture, which commenced on October 19, was accomplished lately. 5 separate “static groups,” every comprising representatives from 5 state departments —Mahila Kalyan, the Municipal Company, the Police, Samaj Kalyan and the District City Improvement Company (DUDA) — have been shaped to gather knowledge from beggars. Every workforce consists of one lady from Mahila Kalyan and three police constables. These 5 static groups, stationed at key intersections, are supported by two cell groups referred to as ‘Nigrani,’ which additionally consists of representatives from all 5 departments, together with Mahila Kalyan.
The 15-day venture was prolonged till November 7 on account of festivals throughout this era, mentioned a senior official from the Mahila Kalyan division.
The static workforce has been supplied with an eight-point proforma — created collaboratively by the 5 departments — on which particular questions are based mostly for every beggar. The factors embody private particulars of the person and their members of the family, in addition to data on how lengthy the individual has been engaged in begging.
Beneath the pilot venture, 5 main intersections in Lucknow, recognized to have a excessive variety of beggars, have been chosen. The joint groups are stationed at these intersections to document particulars from beggars. The areas embody Hazratganj, Lal Batti, Polytechnic, Charbagh Railway Station and Awadh Crossing.
The cell groups patrol designated routes repeatedly and their work is to determine males, ladies and youngsters engaged in begging and relay that data to the static groups, which reply instantly. The static groups deal with gathering detailed data from beggars.
Among the many key particulars gathered from beggars are whether or not they possess Aadhaar playing cards, ration playing cards, voter IDs and financial institution accounts. The workforce can also be assessing whether or not they’re receiving advantages of presidency schemes, together with pensions and old-age help, in addition to what help they should depart the begging occupation. “We face many challenges throughout this course of, as many beggars deny being concerned in begging after they see a big presence of individuals, together with police personnel. They usually provide you with varied excuses for being there. When questioned, some even create a ruckus, placing us in a tough scenario at occasions. Now we have to reassure them that they won’t be harmed and that the federal government will present help. Solely then do they really feel snug sharing their particulars,” mentioned a member of a static workforce.
Over the previous few days, the workforce has collected knowledge from 130 beggars. “The principle objective of this system is to seek out methods to attach these beggars with mainstream society and determine which authorities providers they could be missing,” mentioned Saurabh Tripathi, venture officer at DUDA. He added that with out understanding the underlying causes, no efficient options may be developed.
“The following steps might be decided on the idea of the outcomes of the venture,” Tripathi famous.
One other key goal of the administration is to discover how these individuals can transition away from begging. In response to a latest survey carried out by an NGO, there are practically 4,000 beggars within the state capital.
In response to the survey workforce, through the pilot venture, they discovered that principally beggars come from close by districts comparable to Barabanki, Hardoi, Sitapur, Unnao, Rae Bareli, and Amethi, representing varied non secular backgrounds. Among the many beggars from the Hindu group, many belong to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.
It was discovered that many beggars migrate to Lucknow with their households and sometimes settle in areas neglected by the administration, comparable to underneath highways, close to railway stations and bus stands, in deserted parks and different related areas. “Whereas the youthful male family members usually work as labourers, whereas ladies and the aged have interaction in begging. These beggars often start their actions round 9 am and return to their shelters by 6 pm,” mentioned a workforce member.
A lot of beggars had been discovered to own Aadhaar playing cards, ration playing cards, voter IDs, and even financial institution accounts. A number of aged individuals and widows obtain pensions and a few beggars declare to personal cellphones.
An officer mentioned it has been discovered that solely a small proportion of beggars are doing so out of necessity, whereas the remaining 95 per cent are skilled beggars. A few of these beggars as soon as had technical expertise or creative abilities which have turn out to be out of date on account of modernisation.
In response to officers, on common, every beggar collects round Rs 200-300 per day, with the best earnings amongst pregnant ladies and people carrying infants, who can earn as much as Rs 600-800 each day. It was additionally discovered that pregnant ladies usually have their deliveries at dwelling or in group or main well being centres.
“Begging has turn out to be a occupation; the extra weak you seem, the more cash you make,” mentioned an official from the static workforce. A number of aged and widowed beggars had been discovered to be receiving pensions from the federal government. “A particular function of beggars’ households is their lack of spiritual affiliations. Most of them title their kids after festivals, months, dates, or acquainted objects, making it tough to find out their faith based mostly on their names,” famous a workforce member.
He added that beggars might be known as ‘shuttling beggars’ as they return to their native locations each 25-30 days or so. After a three-day break, they arrive again to renew begging. Every beggar has designated areas for his or her actions, which helps forestall conflicts amongst them, an officer mentioned. “Now we have not discovered any syndicate working behind the beggars up to now. Nonetheless, the presence of a gang can’t be dominated out,” mentioned a policeman accompanying the static workforce. Police personnel are deployed with the groups to make sure their security.
