Assam tops beggars' list in NE, 4th in tion!

Assam tops beggars' list in NE, 4th in tion!

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, March 27: Every people of Assam has a genuine reason to be in for a shock and hang his/her head in shame that the State has the highest number of beggars in the Northeast, and the fourth highest in the tion as a whole! Worse is that most of the baggers in the State are women, and the worst is that the reason behind such a large number of beggars in the State is lack of any government policy to tackle it.

This information, revealed by none other than Union Minister for Social Justice Thawar Chand Gehlot on the floor of in the Lok Sabha recently while replying to a query, mirrors the scerio of social justice in Assam.

Quoting statistics from the 2011 Census, Gehlot informed the Lok Sabha that there are as many as 4.13 lakh homeless people and beggars in the country. Assam, according to the Union minister, has 22,116 destitute people – 14,847 females and 7,269 males. “Assam has the highest number of beggars and destitute people among the north-eastern States and the fourth highest in the tion,” the Union minister said. Citing an alytical report of the Census, the Union minister said that the reason behind such a large number of beggars and destitute people is lack of policies in the States concerned to tackle the mece.

A social activist, who does not want his me to be disclosed, said: “The mece of beggars and destitute people is not that severe in bigger States like Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. One of the visible reasons is that the State governments concerned have erected some shelters in all districts for beggars and homeless people to stay. The duty of the State Government concerned doesn’t end there. They provide education to the children of the homeless people so as not to allow the mece to perpetuate. There are schemes meant for people living below poverty line (BPL). There should be government schemes for beggars and destitute people as well.”

The activist further said: “The onus of tackling such meces lies with the departments concerned which should take schemes to tackle the mece. The departments concerned should also conduct surveys and studies on their own to delve deep into the mece and find ways to arrest the trend. The road near Shukreswar Temple at Panbazar in Guwahati always teems with destitute people, including some couples who increase their population every successive year.”

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