2,500 homeless children mapped across Delhi ahead of ‘Child Beggar-Free Delhi’ campaign

The Delhi Police has mapped around 2,500 children found begging at public places and major road intersections to support the Delhi government’s soon to be launched ‘Child Beggar-Free Delhi’ campaign, which aims to rescue and rehabilitate them. The campaign will be implemented across all 13 districts.

The survey was conducted by the Special Police Unit for Women and Children (SPUWAC) from July 1 to July 31 as part of ‘Child Safety Month’.

Speaking to The Hindu, Deputy Commissioner of Police (SPUWAC) Neha Yadav said the survey focused exclusively on children who were completely shelterless, including those living on the streets or under flyovers without even a jhuggi to stay in. Yadav said children’s latitude and longitude coordinates, and photographs will be shared with the Department of Women and Child Development and the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) to help initiate the ‘Child Beggar-Free Delhi’ campaign. The survey found that most of the children were located in West Delhi.

DCP Yadav said the proposed campaign will address both the homelessness of children and their vulnerability to crimes like snatching and working as couriers for drug peddlers. “If these children are taken in another direction and provided shelter and education, these crimes can also be controlled to an extent,” she said.

On Saturday (August 8), Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the government, in coordination with the DCPCR and non-governmental organisations, would counsel families, understand their difficulties and provide better alternatives for such children rather than forcibly removing them from the streets. The drive will also seek to identify and prosecute organised gangs allegedly forcing children into begging, while ensuring that the children receive support to secure their future, Gupta said.