The numbers of women and child beggars have increased considerably in Dehradun since Unlock-1. They can easily be observed in several locations of the city including near Rispana intersection, Bindal bridge, Parade Ground and Clock Tower and it appears that no concrete action has been taken by any of the departments concerned in this matter during the Covid-19 pandemic. Talking about this issue, the chairperson of the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR), Usha Negi stated that different bodies work to prevent beggary in the district like the task force set up by State government that rescues people involved in beggary, especially children begging on the roads. Such children are sent to Bal Sudhar Grah in association with some non-governmental organisations (NGOs). She said that bodies like Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and Bal Sudhar Grah specifically work for the welfare of child beggars in a district. According to her, people should contact SCPCR or Childline to register the complaints regarding such issues so that the administration can take the appropriate action. “If the commission receives any complaint regarding children begging, we look into it and rescue the children. But people can also contact the authorities so that it becomes easier to tackle the issue,” added Negi.
Meanwhile, the issue of beggary has remained the same in the last several years despite a task force and various other departments of the State that apparently work for the welfare of children and women here. As stated earlier by the director of women welfare directorate and secretary of Uttarakhand child protection committee, Yogendra Yadav, the beggary in the city cannot be stopped completely by forcing people to stop begging unless stable earners of a region help to uplift the financial level of a beggar’s family. However, he was unavailable to comment on what measures has been adopted by women welfare directorate in recent times to prohibit begging of women and children during the pandemic. It is pertinent to mention here that in the past, the police and other departments had undertaken drives to address begging and help rehabilitate the child beggars. However, observers point out that the issue has not been resolved yet due to various factors including absence of persistent action and lack of inter-departmental coordination.
