Sources said that the department has proposed to start seven new beggars’ admission centres, or beggar homes, at a cost of approximately Rs 3.40 crore to cater to these 10 sites.In order to curb begging at 10 renowned religious sites in Gujarat, the state’s Social Justice and Empowerment Department has proposed to notify these locations under the Prevention of Begging Act. The proposal has been sent to the state government to accommodate it in the upcoming Budget session of the Assembly, scheduled to begin from July 2.
The 10 places that have been proposed to be notified are Pavagadh (in the Panchmahals district), Palitana (Bhavnagar), Junagadh and Becharaji (Mehsana), Shamlaji (Aravalli), Sidhpur (Patan), Ambaji (Banaskantha), Prabhas Patan, where the world-famous Somnath temple is situated, in Gir-Somnath district, Dwarka (Jamnagar), and Dakor (in Kheda district).
At present, five major cities of Gujarat — Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot — are notified under the Act, prohibiting begging in these cities, an official said.
An aim to help tourists
With the 10 places under consideration being popular destinations for religious tourism, and begging being particularly prevalent there, the proposal to notify them under the Prevention of Begging Act is seen as going a long way in helping tourists and keeping them interested. Along with Somnath and Dwarka, the other places on the list also receive heavy tourist footfall — in fact, Gujarat’s tourism sector is dominated majorly by religious destinations.
Sources said that the department has proposed to start seven new beggars’ admission centres, or beggar homes, at a cost of approximately Rs 3.40 crore to cater to these 10 sites. As per legal provisions, after beggars are rounded up, they are sent to these centres.
At present, Gujarat has six beggar admission centres, one each in Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot and Gandhinagar, and two in Ahmedabad.
An official from the Social Justice and Empowerment Department said the proposal has been sent to the state government and budget for building new beggars’ home is not a big issue since the department has enough land to build seven new homes.
