Will Mumbai ever be begging-free?

A woman seen begging with her children at Colaba Causeway. Pic/Ashish Raje

As part of an initiative to make the city "begging-free," the Mumbai Police has launched the Zero Beggars drive, which will be carried out all through this month. All police stations have been given orders to track down beggars and send them to a special home in Chembur after testing them for COVID-19.

In November last year, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which had identified nearly 29,000 beggars, including women and children, had said that it was working on an action plan to make the city begging-free. The move had come nearly 10 months after the Union government had proposed a national campaign for comprehensive rehabilitation of beggars.

The police have now joined the initiative, zeroing in on pockets across the city, especially footpaths, religious places and traffic signals, where many are found begging.

The order issued by Joint Commissioner (Law and order) Vishwas Nangre-Patil on February 9 states that all Zonal DCPs should carry out massive drives in their respective zones to catch beggars. The beggars will be booked under Bombay Prevention of Begging Act 1959. By Friday, the Azad Maidan police had caught 14 beggars, who were later sent to the home in Chembur.

"Begging is a social crime, and it gives a city like Mumbai a bad image. But, more than that, there are a few people who force children to engage in the activity. The drive has been taken up to end this," a senior police officer said, on condition of anonymity. The official, however, said that the special home in Chembur has limited capacity. "If all the 12 zones from the city start action on a daily basis, it will be difficult for officials to handle them," he added.

When contacted, DCP (PRO) S Chaitanya confirmed the development. "All DCPs have been ordered to take action. Beggars will be first sent to a medical facility for COVID-19 testing, and then produced in court."

Speaking to mid-day, advocate and activist Abha Singh said that the police's drive was not a foolproof measure. "Yes there is an act and the police can always enact it, but what next? For how many days will these homes keep beggars? Are they going to be rehabilitated? The Mumbai Police, BMC and state government should work together and chalk out a plan to eradicate begging, otherwise it will remain one of those token drives of the year."