Guwahati city to be beggar-free by 2026

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: Beggars of all ages, especially small children and old people have been a major cause of concern in the city of Guwahati. But the authorities are looking at making the city completely free of begging in the year and a half to come.

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has selected a total of 30 cities including Guwahati for a mission towards making them completely free of begging by 2026.

The Mission has been named ‘Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise’ (SMILE) and aims at the rehabilitation of all destitute in these 30 selected cities.

It must be noted that the previous District Commissioner of Kamrup Metropolitan, Pallav Gopal Jha had initiated a project to relocate all destitute to shelter homes in the city and take steps towards their rehabilitation.

But this project failed over time and the inmates escaped from these shelters citing various reasons ranging from inappropriate behaviour to inapt food and they preferred to get back into the streets of the city.

With the projected mission SMILE, it remains to see if some changes can be made in the existing scenario and resolve the problem of the growing number of beggars in various parts of the city.

Also read: Guwahati: Beggar Uses QR Code For Donations; Netizens React To Video (sentinelassam.com)

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