A 17,000km walk to spread awareness about child beggary

PUNE:Ashish Sharma, a 28-year-old Delhi resident, gave up his high-paying job and started an awareness walk against child beggary after being a witness to the horrific incident of a child chewing off his fingers due to non-availability of drugs that he was addicted to. His now aims to walk 17,000km across the country to spread the awareness. "Our government pumps in crores of rupees for providing free education to children. However, by giving them alms, we are keeping them out of school. If no one gives money to children, no one will force them into beggary and hopefully they will be sent to school. When not in school, they are exposed to all sorts of evils like drugs and alcohol," Sharma, who quit his job as a mechanical engineer in 2015, said.

Sharma started his awareness walk on August 22 and reached Pune after walking a distance of 3,434km from Uddampur in Jammu and Kashmir. He plans to end his trip in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu.

"On an average, I walk almost 50 -70km each day. Whenever I reach some city, I ask the locals about the most-crowded areas to visit and talk to the people. I also visit supermarkets and request the management to make announcements regarding my journey and its motto. I have also made these announcements at various railway stations," he said. He hopes to see a better India in five years. "This walk is a step in making people aware that they are responsible for child beggary," Sharma added.