On Tuesday, the Hyderabad Police issued a notice banning beggars from the city roads. The ostentatious aim of this opportunistic notice is to reduce the, “nuisance and danger to vehicular traffic and pedestrians.” This order comes at a time when the United States President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump is visiting Hyderabad.
The Global Entrepreneurship Summit is happening from the 28th to the 30th of November in the city. Apart from Ivanka Trump, PM Modi and many foreign delegates would be attending the summit. One may not recall but this is deja vu, like we have seen this before. Remember back in 2000, the same notice was issued. The only difference being the then United States President Bill Clinton was visiting Hyderabad.
On Wednesday, 400 beggars were taken to rehabilitation centers and another 6,000 will be relocated over the next week. An official explained the move was purely done for the betterment of the beggars and citizens. He was quoted saying, “Some beggars argued that we were taking their freedom to live anywhere they want, but we told them it was for their own good because they are going to the rehab center where they will be taken care of.”
Last year, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation conducted a survey revealing 98% of the beggars in Hyderabad were fake. Among the 14,000 beggars in the city, 98% earn Rs. 1,000 every day. This poses the question, if 98% of these beggars are fake, will taking them to a rehabilitation center actually make a difference? These beggars have chosen the profession because it allows them to make quick and easy money. The ban will be imposed only till the 7th of January, meaning after that begging will be back in business.
It is a shame the government makes temporary changes just to put on a show for foreign delegates. This is the issue with all political parties in the country. The Telugu Desam Party imposed the begging ban in 2000 and now the Telangana Rashtra Samithi is doing the same. Another point is only 6,000 out the 14,000 beggars will be relocated to centers. It will soon be noticed these beggars will disappear from the areas Ivanka Trump and the other delegates are most likely to visit.
Read More: 98% Of The Beggars In Hyderabad Are Fake
