720 juveniles in Bengaluru involved in begging: Govt

Authorities have identified 720 juveniles under the age of 18 involved in begging in Bengaluru.

They will be rescued and rehabilitated soon, Social Welfare & Backward Classes Welfare Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary said Monday.

Speaking after chairing a meeting with Home Minister Araga Jnanedra, Women & Child Development Minister Halappa Achar and other senior officials, Poojary said that the government is aware that several illegal activities are carried out in the guise of begging.

In Bengaluru, there are 50-70 locations where begging is widespread and the Directorate of Child Protection has rescued 101 children and rehabilitated them, he said.

"The Karnataka Legal Services Authority has submitted a report identifying 720 children involved in begging. The government will take suitable action to rescue them," he said.

Noting that begging is widespread in Bengaluru, he said that strict measures will be initiated to stop it in the city. Police teams are formed in each of the eight police divisions and an action plan is in place. Cases will be registered against those who use children for begging, Poojary said. A separate building will come to rehabilitate women and children rescued. There are enough funds for this, he added.

"Children are forced to consume banned substances and pushed to the streets for begging. Measures will be initiated to ensure that the Karnataka Prohibition of Beggary Act is implemented in a strict manner," he added.

To detect children begging in the streets, the Directorate of Children Welfare has developed a mobile application 'e-gurutu'. The app can be downloaded from the Google Playstore.

If the members of public find any child begging in the streets, they can alert officials through the app. The App is GPS-enabled, based on which officials from the directorate will reach the spot and rescue the child, Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) director KS Latha Kumar said. Citizens can also make use of toll free number 1098 (Childline) to alert officials.