3 days ago
Cops aim to make Vizag a beggar-free city
Visakhapatnam: Disturbed by seeing people begging and homeless persons sleeping on the roads, City Police Commissioner Shankhabrata Bagchi initiated 'Jyotirgamaya'.
In an effort to bring light to the dark life being led by alm-seekers in Visakhapatnam and make it a beggar-free destination, the city police initiated 'Jyotirgamaya'.
The seed which was sown 10 months back derived desired results as about 243 persons who were begging in various places across the city were rescued and sheltered.
Through 'Jyotirgamaya' mission, the Commissioner of Police opines that the beggars will either be sheltered or provided an opportunity to work as they have a right to lead a dignified life.
The main agenda of the mission is to completely eliminate begging in Visakhapatnam and provide proper shelter to beggars and make Visakhapatnam a begging-free city.
Instead of focusing on just shifting the beggars outside the city, the idea is to improve their livelihood by giving them an opportunity to work and lead a decent life. Based on their ability and age factor, the work opportunities will be provided to the beggars.
With the support of NGOs and donors, they will be given a chance to take up small works.
As part of the mission, Vizag City Police in coordination with a group of volunteers conducted a survey. With the support of volunteers, 243 beggars have been identified in the city. Of them, 45 were said to be healthy. They were handed over to their family members, following a counselling session. Nine of the beggars were mentally weak and they were shifted to the Government Hospital for Mental Care. About 189 people will be either rehabilitated in shelter homes or assigned work based on their capacities.
To take the mission forward, control room Inspector Hussain, Harbour CI Simhadri Naidu, Special Branch CI Tirupati Rao, CI Chappa Prasad (VR) played a key role.
In future, a few more people will be identified for rehabilitation. Those who can work will be given work and those who cannot will be provided shelter, the CP said.
Similarly, transgenders will also be given work opportunities in future.
Next, the city police are working to provide livelihood to prisoners who completed their imprisonment term.
