JAIPUR: In a bid to curb begging by children, the Jodhpur commissioner had recently issued a letter to all police personnel that strict action under Juvenile Justice Act be taken against the parents or persons who are forcing the children to beg on the streets.
The state child commission has decided that a similar letter would be issued to all the districts from the department reinstating the laws regarding the same.
A report of action taken by the districts to curtail child begging will need to be submitted as well. An intensive campaign for the issue would be started from Jaipur by the child panel from Tuesday.
Sangeeta Beniwal, chairperson of Rajasthan Commission for Protection of Child Rights (RSCPCR) said, “While there are laws which make child begging punishable, people are not aware of them and it is a welcome initiative taken by Jodhpur commissioner to issue this order and we will also replicate this letter which will be sent to all the districts. We will also be starting with the campaign to eradicate child labour and begging from Jaipur in the coming week.”
During a meeting of stakeholders recently, it was found that more coordination was required between states and while children were being rescued successfully, their rehabilitation continued to be irregular which would also be an area of focus in the coming days. For the same, high-level committee comprising of officials and experts is to come up with a policy for prevention of child labour and trafficking in the state. One of the measures for eradication would be to that employment would be provided by surveying the beggars by linking them with skill training programmes which would solve economic problems and help in eradicating begging. The work of identification and survey of beggars will be done jointly by the police and administration.
