Team Herald
PANJIM: Street beggars have returned to haunt the State, yet again. Amid blame game by various authorities involved in the mission to get rid of begging nuisance, the unfortunate reality remains they continue to be seen everywhere like in one’s neighbourhood, outside eatery outlets, bus stands, railway stations, junctions, markets, etc as they don’t hesitate to knock one’s vehicle seeking alms. The influx of beggars that was restricted to tourist season is now all round the year.
In what will evidently leave the authorities red-faced, a video of a child beggar defecating in the open has gone viral. It happened right in the heart of the capital city, to be precise, at the Gracia de Orta Garden. Bunch of beggars located next to the parked cars where the child was defecating indicates increasing number of beggars on the streets, and how they have become the largest contributor of unhygienic conditions in the State.
Here’s another incident where begging turned tragic for a 12-year-old. On April 24, in the densely populated tourist hub of Baga, the teen while trying to escape from a dog ran in the middle of the road where she was crushed to death by a cement concrete mixer. The girl, hailing from Maharashtra and living with her family at Mapusa Bus Stand, was seeking alms from the tourists not knowing what was kept in store for her.
A large number of children, including toddlers, can still be seen begging at various traffic intersections raising serious question mark on the sincerity of the government.
Victims Assistance Unit (VAU) Chief in Goa Emidio Pinho has emphasised the need for a rehabilitation home while conceded increasing begging menace. In the Baga case, Pinho said the accused driver was arrested even as the accident was due to another reason. “State has no plans. There is a need for rehabilitation home. It is in the pipeline but not implemented. The beggars are caught during police raid but released to be found back on the roads begging,” he said while speaking to Herald.
Olivia Coutinho, member of NGO Hope Foundation said, “These children should be placed in proper institution and monitored by the child welfare committees. It is the sole responsibility of the police and the District Child Protection Unit to rescue these children seen on streets. There are laws in place but the law enforcement agency put a blind eye to this.”
Almost every two years, the number of beggars is increasing 200 times and evidently.
Social Welfare Minister Subhash Faldessai clarifying that the government is not against the beggars, Faldessai said, “The beggars we see on roads are not originally Goans. Setting up Beggars House will not help to eliminate them from the streets. We have to rehabilitate them and there are other ways wherein Goans are involved through their initiatives.”