Lucknow admin drive to end child begging set to gather pace

Lucknow's district administration targets child beggary in major markets, promoting education and welfare schemes, following success at Hazratganj and Burlington.

As implementation of new traffic patterns at Hazratganj and Burlington have indirectly brought an end to child beggary at these two major intersections in the Uttar Pradesh capital, the district administration has now directed its team towards main markets of Lucknow to make them free from child beggars.

The focus will be to send these children to schools and help their parents with alternative sources of income. (For Representation)

“The 10 markets that have been identified are Aminabad, Hazratganj Janpath, Lekhraj, Patrakarpuram, Bhootnath, Bangla Bazar, Gole Market/Nishatganj, Kapoorthala and Charbagh. Our team has already started working in these markets. Due to Navratri and Durga Puja, it did not gain momentum. Now the festival is over and Diwali is more than two weeks away, we plan to take some concrete steps to free or reduce child beggars from these market places,” said district magistrate Vishak G.

“The district administration is roping in traders’ associations of these markets. In collaboration with the administration team comprising city magistrates and respective members of the traders’ union, we will try to address this issue in a sensitive and responsible manner,” he added.

“We have also decided to adopt a multi-pronged approach towards child beggary as part of the ongoing crackdown on the menace. The focus will be to send these children to schools and help their parents with alternative sources of income through various welfare schemes of the government,” the DM said.

He chaired the first meeting with officials on how to run this drive in an effective manner. It was proposed that a helpline number will be made public through which people who want to help child beggars financially may contribute and the money will be used for the betterment of child beggars in different ways.

The DM said with the help of Bal Sewa scheme, they will try to help child beggars. “It is sad that children in the 5--14 age group, who are supposed to go to school, are actually on the streets, begging for alms,” another official said.

Vishak G said while the Lucknow district administration and its team acted against the syndicate working behind this, it will yield good results when traders’ associations of these major markets of state capital come forward and help the administration in making this campaign a success.

In the past, the district administration had carried out an enforcement drive campaign since February 1 this year by deploying teams at prominent intersections (hot spots) such as Hazratganj, Lal Batti, Awadh crossing, Indira Gandhi Pratishthan crossing, Charbagh, Engineering College, Tedhipulia, Aliganj and Kapoorthala etc.