Taking a serious note of beggars harassing citizens for money on the streets, the City Police have decided to conduct a census of beggars in the city before launching a massive drive to curb the menace. The beggars are using different methods seeking alms on the streets—pretending to be street vendors or cleaning windshields of cars at traffic signals without permission. After receiving numerous complaints about such activities, a meeting of senior police officials was convened at Police Bhavan, recently. During the meeting, a strategy was chalked out for shifting beggars from city streets to shelter homes. Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) would play an important role in the drive, as it operates shelter homes. It may be mentioned that temporary measures were taken during the Civil-20 (C-20) conference in 2023, when beggars were shifted from the streets to shelter homes. However, after the event, the number of beggars on the streets increased again. As per the new plan, the City Police, NGOs, and NMC will conduct a census of beggars. The last such census, conducted in 2022, showed there were 1,600 beggars and homeless people in the city. Since then, the situation has worsened, with many beggars from other cities seeking shelter on the streets of Nagpur. According to information, the city has six shelter homess, but they can only accommodate 500 people collectively. The shelter home for young women is full, and there is limited space in other shelters.

 

A senior police official stated that the new census would help assess the full scale of the problem and decide what steps to take next. The city has rehabilitation centers that assist beggars by teaching them skills such as sewing, embroidery, and broom-making. However, it is difficult to ensure all beggars go through the rehabilitation process. Some beggars are released on bond after being arrested, and others try to escape. Additional Commissioner of Police (Addl CP Crime) Sanjay Patil has been tasked with creating a detailed plan to address these issues. The Social Security Branch will work with other departments for the rehabilitation of beggars. Citizens also will be encouraged to share their ideas and concerns with the Social Security Branch.

 

A large number of beggars from Indore have arrived in Nagpur via train in December last. The Indore administration, on December 16, 2024, announced that it would start registering FIRs from January 1, 2025, against those who give alms to the beggars. Since then, beggars from Indore have started travelling to nearby cities, with most of them arriving in Nagpur by trains. Government Railway Police (GRP) officials noticed a large number of beggars arriving in Nagpur via trains. Later, it was understood that these beggars were coming from Indore to Nagpur Railway Station. Upon arriving at Nagpur Railway Station, the beggars moved to different parts of the city. According to sources, some of the beggars have relatives in Nagpur who invited them.

 

 

 Sources report that groups of beggars use different methods to target commuters. The beggars living near Yeshwant Stadium are from nearby districts of Vidarbha, particularly from the Pardhi communities. These beggars go to the Flower Market in Sitabuldi every day and purchase roses. After wrapping the roses in plastic, they create small single-rose bouquets. They make their children to offer/sell the roses to commuters at the traffic signals. Seeing a poor child with roses often compels passersby to purchase them. At other parts of the city, groups of beggars indulge in selling pens, masks, and paper napkins. Recently, beggars have adopted a new technique where they suddenly approach the windshields of cars and clean them without demanding any money. However, a kind-hearted person often feels compelled to give them some money despite not being asked.