In a prelude to the “Mission Beggar Free Hyderabad”, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has got a survey done in collaboration with some NGOs and came out with startling statistics.
The survey done by NGO “Beggar Free City” and few others revealed that there were as many as 14,000 beggars roaming around the city seeking alms at the important traffic junctions, on the footpaths and around the religious places of all the communities.
The survey established that the beggars, 98 per cent of them professionals earn as much as Rs 24 crore per annum collectively. Only 2 per cent of them are forced into begging by their circumstances including the physical challenges. But all others were professionals making a living out of begging.
GHMC has convened a meeting of officials later this month to discuss the findings of the survey and devise a strategy to make the city free of beggars. The meeting will be attended by the police officials as well as the representatives of non-governmental organisations to discuss various measures for the rehabilitation and counseling of beggars. The meeting will also prepare a plan for creating awareness among the people against patronising the professional beggars.